River Talk

The terrific-ness of trees

By SANDY LONG
Posted 1/22/20

To me, trees are truly miraculous. As a child, I spent happy hours climbing into their arms, resting there, held in their embrace and swaying ever so slightly when the wind joined in, enhancing my …

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River Talk

The terrific-ness of trees

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To me, trees are truly miraculous. As a child, I spent happy hours climbing into their arms, resting there, held in their embrace and swaying ever so slightly when the wind joined in, enhancing my reverie. Above me were the blanketing leaves; down below, the solid earth stretched away from the sturdy stalk supporting me.

In those days, I valued trees largely for their breathtaking beauty, and for the sensory gifts they delivered—the soft susurration of their leaf-whispers, the cooling glade created by their canopies, the wild blaze of their fall costumes and the drama of their skeletal limbs when the leaves became litter. 

While I still cherish trees for those same reasons, as time went by I learned of the many ways in which trees improve our world and therefore our lives, producing oxygen and purifying the air we breathe, serving as a source of fuel to warm our bodies and spirits, providing the base material for building shelter and creating art, providing food and shelter for wildlife and so much more.

Trees also sequester CO2, which reduces greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. This feature alone gives us one of the best tools available to combat the ravages of climate change. Learn more at www.bit.ly/plant-a-billion.

Every time a swath of trees is removed for another unnecessary “convenience” store, I mourn for the loss that represents. The proliferation of such establishments in the Upper Delaware River region has increased alarmingly in recent years, each extracting its toll on the pristine forests, fresh air and high quality waters here. 

Take a moment today to contemplate the trees you encounter. What have they done that supports your well-being? What can you do to support theirs? Check out the following link and choose a few actions to take: www.wikihow.com/save-trees.



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