At Western Landscaping we encourage you to help us celebrate the importance of trees in our lives. By planting just a single tree or shrub, you can make a difference. Each tree will help to contribute to cleaner air, lower energy costs, create greater protection of our soil and water supplies, reduced noise levels, and establish a more serene and beautiful environment in which to live. Plant a Tree!

Education - Teaching Our Children that ‘Trees are Good’

We are embarking on a project to deliver educational sessions to Elementary School children in Kingston to ‘Plant a Tree, Make our City Cool’. Recently, an article was published in the Whig Standard on City Council’s request for Kingston to plant new trees to replace trees that have been removed. As a landscaping firm, we are passionate about encouraging the general public to plant trees where trees have been taken down. We see the need to go one step further and educate the future generation, our children, about the importance of trees in our environment.

At a global level the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has launched a major worldwide tree planting campaign. Under the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, people, communities, business and industry, civil society organizations and governments are encouraged together to plant one billion trees worldwide. Our goal, as a landscaping business in this grand scheme, is to plant 7 mature trees at selected elementary schools and give seedlings to participating students. We have joined the worldwide effort of UNEP and pledged to plant a
minimum of 310 trees!

Therefore, during the month of April, before the annual celebration of National Arbor Week, April 30 to May 15, 2008, our desire is to plant trees at seven various Kingston elementary schools. Our certified Arborist and his staff will plant a tree with Grade 6 children teaching them the importance of trees in our world. Not only will children be educated on the valuable skill of how to plant a tree, but how to care for a tree once it is planted. Children will then be given a seedling to take home to plant at a location of their choosing.

The Benefits of Trees

Air

• A tree produces oxygen while using up carbon dioxide. Some scientists contend that the over-abundance of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere will lead to the ‘greenhouse effect’.
• A tree’s foliage filters out fine particulates and smog, and also traps ash, dust, and pollen.

Soil

• A tree’s falling leaves and needles decompose. This decomposing material provides rich nutrients for the soil.
• A tree’s roots help to anchor the soil, thus preventing valuable topsoil from being blown away by the wind or washed away by the rain.
• A tree’s roots and canopy reduce flooding by allowing rain to percolate into the ground,
  which reduces rainfall run-off.

Water

• A tree, in addition to reducing topsoil erosion, also helps prevent harmful land pollutants, contained in the soil, from getting into our waterways.
• A tree, in addition to slowing down water run-off, ensures that groundwater supplies are continually being replenished.

Noise Levels

• A tree’s various parts absorb sound waves, deflect the waves in different directions, and thereby reduce the sound’s intensity. Each 100 foot width of trees can absorb about 6 to 12 decibels of noise. Since a busy highway can generate as much as 72 decibels of sound, trees can make a significant and welcome reduction in noise levels.

Utility Costs

• A tree, such as an evergreen, if properly placed in your yard, can act as a windbreak and an insulator. In the winter, this can translate into lower home heating costs.
• A tree, especially a deciduous, if strategically placed to provide shade for your home’s roof and outside walls, can help reduce air conditioning costs in the summer.

Property Values

• A tree adds to the beauty and charm of the landscape and can therefore increase the property’s value.
• A tree breaks up the monotony of masonry, cement, metal, and glass along city streets and sidewalks. Areas with trees often attract more people (e.g. tourists, customers).

Recreational Places

• A tree provides valuable play areas where children can climb, make a swing, and build a tree house. In urban areas trees help children to see and appreciate nature.
• A tree is often used by birds and small animals for shelter, nesting and for the storage of food. Again, this enables all of us to have some contact with nature.
• A number of trees can help hide unsightly areas such as garbage dumps, highways, scrap yards, mine sites, etc.

For more information on "Plant A Tree, Make our City Cool" please email or call Carol Vandertol at Western Landscaping 613-389-2384.