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'Grow Boston Greener' One Tree At A Time

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Apr 24, 2009 4:37 pm US/Eastern

'Grow Boston Greener' One Tree At A Time

  Get A Free Tree Planted Outside Your Home

BOSTON (WBZ) ― There are some 400 billion trees on our planet -- roughly 60 per person, but there is always room for more.
 
Arbor Day originated in Nebraska in the late 1800s and is observed by dozens of countries around the world from Cambodia to Kenya. With the help of a team of volunteers, the City of Boston planted 40 trees in East Boston on this Arbor Day, but this effort is just a small piece of a much bigger plan to Grow Boston Greener (GBG).

The goal of GBG is to plant 100,000 trees in the city by the year 2020 so that in the decades to come our tree canopy grows from 29 percent to 35 percent.

Why the need for more green? Think of it this way -- trees are our friends.
 
Trees mop up air pollution and CO2 while giving off oxygen to breath. Trees clean the water too and give us shade. Strategically placed, trees can cut home heating and cooling costs by 10 percent. And research has shown that kids who live on tree lined streets have lower rates of asmtha.

You may not realize it, but we take our urban trees for granted. We use them to lock up our bikes, for pet pit stops, sometimes they get hit by a car, and often trees get bombarded by salt meant for slippery roads.

It is a tough life in the city and as a result, urban trees often have a shorter life span. So on this Arbor Day take a moment to remember the value of trees. Soon many more will be moving into the city!

 Request the city of Boston to plant a tree in front of your home or business

Or call the Park Line at 617-635-PARK (7275) to request a planting.

 Grow Boston Greener

 Calculate the amount of carbon taken up by a tree 

  Massachusetts' State Tree is the American Elm. Adopted in 1941, the official title is to commemorate George Washington taking command of the Continental Army in 1775 under an American Elm in Cambridge Common. Find out what trees grow best in our area

My Ode to trees:

They come in all shapes and sizes. They can make you sneeze or smile. Trees can be a target for lightning or a home to wildlife. They can decorate your street or host a kid's fort. Trees mark the seasons with a big color show in autumn and a bare naked dance in winter. They clean our air and make music in the wind. Their branches can knock out power--their stumps can trip you up too. Trees provide building materials for a home and oxygen for life. Trees show their years in rings not wrinkles. Trees stand witness.

From my favorite Indian poet:

"Trees are the Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."

--Rabindranath Tagore

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