If you followed the furious protests by Sheffield residents against the mass felling of street trees by the local council, you’ll know how in a bid to save costs, local authorities have chopped down over 100,000 trees over recent years. And despite many claiming to have replaced felled trees, saplings simply cannot match the benefits of a mature-canopy tree.
Trees are hugely beneficial – especially in towns and cities. Not only do they provide shade that cools pavements during heatwaves, but they absorb airborne pollution and CO2. Mature trees also act as a natural defence against pavement parking. And the benefits of trees go beyond the physical. Research has proved what many folk have always known; trees have a positive impact on our sense of well-being.
According to a researcher at Trees for Cities, “One of the really interesting things we found is that exposure to greenspace significantly reduces people’s levels of salivary cortisol – a physiological marker of stress.”
The practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, has long been practised in Japan. Quite apart from the calming effect of spending time around nature, trees emit phytoncides – a form of essential oil with natural antimicrobial and insecticidal qualities that protect the tree from infection and are thought to be beneficial to people too.
Trees for Streets is another charity dedicated to unleashing the power of trees to transform streets and housing estates into green vibrant places. Over the next decade the organisation aims to support the planting of over 250,000 street trees.
It’s crucial that councils don’t fell well-established trees as saplings cannot match the benefits of a mature-canopy tree
The project helps people work with their local councils to sponsor the planting of street trees. The costs of sponsorship can be reduced if residents volunteer to water the sapling over its first three years.
The interest in street trees mirrors the growing support for parklets – small pockets of urban tranquillity that take the place of a parking space.
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edmund white
Trees give us so much, shade from sun & rain, cleaner air, more bird song, and they just a thing of beauty to see. There may a problem for a week or two with leaf fall but it’s a small price to pay. Only fools want to cut them down