It's time to start turning over a new leaf and plant the seeds to seeing more green.
Last Saturday, I emceed Leon Valley's 21st Annual Earthwise Living Day. This year's theme was all about the importance of trees and forests. The free event had experts give a presentation on all aspects of trees, from caring for them to the benefits of planting them. During the event, Leon Valley residents were invited to pick up trees for free.
A certified arborist with the Texas Forest Service, Paul Johnson was the last to speak that day. He's working with the City of Leon Valley to plant a thousand trees per year for the next 10 years. That means 10,000 trees by the year 2020. Sound too ambitious? Johnson says "no" that's a tree per person in this community of 10,000 people.
That's a lot of "green" from a financial standpoint. Paul Johnson first asked the crowd Saturday, how many people in the room invested in their trees as much as in their lawns.
One person raised their hand, but it wasn't a confident raise.
Many residents agreed they paid more attention to their lawns. Paul said it's due to marketing. Few advertisements focus on tree care. The arborist says homeowners pay more attention to their lawn than their trees and that caring for them shouldn't be overlooked, especially for financial and environmental reasons.
To learn more about the rewards, Paul suggested logging onto the National Tree Benefit Calculator.
Conceived and developed by Casey Trees and Davey Tree Experts Company, the website can give you an idea of the economic and ecological benefits.
All you have to do is type in your zip code, enter the tree species (ie: live oak, maple, etc.), the diameter of that tree and the location(ie: single family residential, commercial, multi-family, park, etc.). You'll find out how much that tree will add to your property value, how much energy you're conserving, how the tree benefits our air quality, and how many gallons of stormwater runoff are prevented.
It's a fascinating look into exact numbers of how trees play a significant part in our environment. From being the first city in Bexar County to offer curbside recycling 20 years ago, to now moving forward with its tree plan by 2020, Leon Valley is on the right track and could see just how quickly its investments will grow.
