10 Reasons You Should Plant Trees

I blogged about taking my kids to Mount Union College's Nature Center.  While we were in the visitor's center, I picked up a flier from the National Arbor Day Foundation. It lists 10 reasons why you should plant trees.  It also says if you join the Arbor Day Foundation ($10 membership) you'll get 10 flowering trees.  When I get a chance (probably 2030) I want to try to match up the trees they send with the growing conditions in my yard (sun, part-shade, shade, etc). 
So for now, here's the list!
1. Trees conserve energy in the summer, and save you money.  Properly planted trees can cut your air-conditioning costs by 15-35%.
2. Trees help clean the air.  Trees produce the oxygen we breathe, and remove air pollution by lowering air temperature, through respiration, and by retaining particulates. 
3. Trees bring songbirds close by.
4. Trees around your home can increase its value by up to 15% or more.  Studies of comparable houses with and without trees place a markedly higher value on those whose yards are sheltered by trees.
5.Trees help clean our rivers and streams.  Trees hold the soil in place and reduce polluted runoff into our waterways.
6. Trees conserve energy in the winter.  Trees can slow cold winter winds, and can cut heating costs 10-20%.
7. Trees fight global warming.  They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the major contributor to the threat of global warming.
8. Trees make your home, and your neighborhood, more beautiful.  Trees mark the changing seasons, and add grace and color.
9. Trees are fun!  Planting and caring for trees can be a great family and community-building activity.
10. It's easy!  Here's how Join the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation and we'll send you 10 trees--free...with easy-to-follow planting instructions. 

It says they send 2 flowering Dogwoods, 2 flowering crabapples, 2 Bradford Pears, 2 Washington Hawthorns, and 2 American Redbuds, or other trees selected for your area.  They're shipped when conditions are right for you area (Feb-May and Oct-mid-Dec).  The trees they send are 6-12 inches and are guaranteed to grow.  Sounds like a good deal, for you and the planet!