Triple Trees
What’s your favorite tree? Is it the mighty oak? Or, the beautiful blossoming magnolia with its giant pink and white spring flowers? Or, maybe the tall coconut palm holding bundles of milky fruit waiting to be cracked open. Personally, I’ve always been partial to birch trees with their beautiful white bark standing out in a sea of green and brown. Today, my favorite tree is the vine maple.
Why? Because I participated in a tree-planting program in my hometown with Portland-based Friends of the Trees. I almost always go with the number three, so ordered 3 vine maples to add to my yard. I chose that variety because they grow well in shady areas and display brilliant red and orange leaves in the fall. It’s a deciduous understory tree, typically reaching just 10 to 15 feet, so it can easily thrive with other trees towering over. Vine maples are native to the Pacific Northwest, so I hope they will be extra happy and offer a good home to lots of local wildlife. It’ll be such fun to watch them grow!
The best part of this tree planting program is that volunteers for Friends of the Trees delivered and planted the newbies in my yard. Boy Scouts swarmed the place, digging and carrying water to get my new trees started. They even come back in 6 months to make sure the trees are thriving.
And guess what? Every new tree helps us all! Planting one is something most of us can do to help combat the devastating effects of climate change. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for all of us to breathe. They keep our environment healthy and balanced in so many ways:
preserving soil
cooling our cities
providing food for humans and wildlife
protecting against flooding and helping with wind reduction
combating noise and light pollution
creating jobs
helping heal diseases by providing key ingredients for a quarter of all medicines
creating beautiful surroundings and stress-free areas to relax and get away
And get this one: According to data from the National Wildlife Federation, if there is more greenery around apartment buildings the crime rate is significantly lower than similar housing facilities with no trees.
Trees also offer a mystical connection and a deep spirituality in religion and mythology. Many traditions – both ancient and modern – believe the tree symbolizes life itself.
All these reasons make me smile as I watch my newbies taking root and settling into their new home. And, I find myself feeling a kinship with the folks at Friends of the Trees. This non-profit group’s stated goal is to “Inspire people to improve the world around them through a simple solution: Planting trees.”
I love that! They are helping to save the planet one tree at a time.
As the author of Spontaneous Revolutions: Seeing America One Pedal at a Time my goal is also to inspire people. By reading the book and understanding that if we could do it, you can, too.
I hope people feel encouraged to follow their dreams. Which may not be to ride across the country on a bike or even to plant a tree, but to know that whatever your dream is, it’s simply a matter of doing it one pedal at a time, one step at a time, one tree at a time.
