Trees make our communities more attractive and more livable. Crime levels drop when trees are planted in urban neighborhoods. Trees typically add between five and twenty percent to property values. Trees cool summer temperatures, both outside through transpiration and shade, and inside by shading buildings.
Trees are invaluable for their filtration of noise and air pollutants, and for privacy screening.
Planting community trees can bring people together and help foster civic pride. Although the community forest is frequently taken for granted, the ice storm in 1998 brought to our attention how inconvenient, dangerous and expensive it can be when those trees in our towns and villages and along our roads fail. While even those trees in the best of condition were damaged, trees with pre- existing problems and defects fared the worst, and caused the most problems. The good news is that many such defects can be avoided in the next generation of trees with some inexpensive, but timely, maintenance. Whether or not our community trees are impacted by an ice storm, microburst or other natural disaster, they deserve our attention.