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Take care of the trees

By Paula Wellnitz


I may hear the sound of the saw at work or just drive past to see trees I've admired now lying in pieces on the ground. It is so sad.

I keep wondering why people don't recognize the benefits these trees give us? First of all for their beauty. But besides beauty they do so many things for us. They can be windbreaks. They remove much of the CO2 from the air, prevent storm water runoff, give us clearer creeks, enable us to use less energy, etc.

Cities and towns that recognize these things take care of their trees and plant more. They find that this attracts shoppers and new businesses along with the above benefits. All this improves the quality of life for those living in or near those cities.

Holladay here in Utah, among others, has applied for a Tree City USA award through the Arbor Day Foundation. Their city planner said that in the pioneer settlements in that area people value their old trees and Tree City USA will help to protect them. They started a Heritage Tree program to help people who want to protect and care for their special trees and to have them recognized.

I could hope that the pride and interest people here take in being pioneer settlements will include an appreciation of their trees. It can include a recognition of the benefits of planting new trees also, as the pioneers did, that enhance our environment with beauty and decreased air pollution as well as many other desired outcomes.

There are almost 50 Tree City USA communities in Utah. Each of the communities within reach of this paper could do so also.

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