Urban forestry in my own interpretation is an important aspect in a society that should never be disregarded. Trees are important even in an urban environment since it helps improve the atmosphere and it helps control carbon dioxide levels. Having trees in an urban setting also provides for other benefits. Among others, it provides shade and can even provide food if fruit-bearing trees are planted.
Having trees in an urban environment comes with a lot of benefits. Primarily, trees control temperature.A tree reduces a residence’s heating and cooling costs. It also controls the heat-island effect created by a mass of buildings and other similar establishments by controlling temperature. Additionally, it helps produce oxygen while absorbing carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. Two trees can supply all the oxygen ne
...eds of one person for an entire year.
Trees in an urban environment have also been found to reduce smog levels by as much as 6 percent (Wolf, 1998).Trees have also been found to have economic benefits so having trees in an urban environment is never a bad idea. One survey indicated that establishments that are surrounded by trees often are better patronized by people. The same is true for architecture and urban design. Real estate values also go up in the presence of trees (Wolf, 1998).
The Arbor Day Foundation is an efficient source for information on urban forestry.Its website hosts a lot of information about greening the urban environment as well as provides a lot of neat ideas on how Arbor Day could be celebrated. It organizes conferences to promote awareness on the importance of trees and encourages communities to recognize Arbor
Day. It group also organizes activities that encourage the youth as well as adults to participate in community greening campaigns. The organization basically promotes the celebration of Arbor Day, an internationally recognized holiday that encourages tree planting.The United States government has also made an effort to promote urban forestry.
They have some information available on the Internet particularly at the Northeastern Area Forest Service. They have a curriculum set up to educate students from different age groups about forestry. The curriculum has five areas, namely tree identification and inventory, characteristics of the trees, soil conditions for trees, condition of the trees, and tree care and planting.These efforts have been extremely helpful to the urban forestry lobby as more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of trees even in the urban setting. Countries that used to put no attention on the matter have started putting attention on it because of these and other similar efforts by different environment groups. In improving the curriculum, having a mechanism in place that would require actual practice of tree planting would greatly help in promoting urban forestry.
It would not just provide the youth with the necessary knowledge; it would also give them actual experience. This could greatly enhance participation and can actually help reap the rewards of tree planting. It is like hitting two birds with one stone. The community is starting to recognize the importance of urban forestry but still, a lot of effort needs to be put up in order to constitute real change. Urban forestry is fairly simple and the benefits will come naturally so pursuing it does not take much of an effort.
People must just have the willingness to do it.
