CR8Change Trees Planting Program
Simply by hosting your web site with CR8Change.org you are making a monthly commitment to help plant trees. You will be making a truly lasting difference in supporting healthy urban forests in our communities, and throughout the world. A portion of your on-going monthly account fee will help provide a stable flow of support towards our work planting 1 million trees globally.
Most often we plant trees to provide shade and beautify our landscapes. However there are many other great benefits but trees also provide other less obvious benefits.
Social Benefits
- Trees make life nicer. It has been shown that spending time among trees and green spaces reduces the amount of stress that we carry around with us in our daily lives.
- Hospital patients have been shown to recover from surgery more quickly when their hospital room offered a view of trees.
- Children have been shown to retain more of the information taught in schools if they spend some of their time outdoors in green spaces.
- Trees are often planted as living memorials or reminders of loved ones or to commemorate significant events in our lives.
Communal Benefits
- Event though you may own the trees on your property your neighbors may benefit from them as well.
- Through careful planning trees can be an asset to your entire community.
- Tree lined streets have a traffic calming effect, traffic moves more slowly and safely.
- Trees can be placed to screen unwanted views or noise from busy highways.
- Trees can complement the architecture or design of buildings or entire neighborhoods.
Environmental Benefits
Trees are like the lungs of the planet. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Additionally, they provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. But that’s not all trees do for us!
- Trees improve our air quality by filtering harmful dust and pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide from the air we breathe.
- Trees give off oxygen that we need to breathe.
- Trees reduce the amount of storm water runoff, which reduces erosion and pollution in our waterways and may reduce the effects of flooding.
- Many species of wildlife depend on trees for habitat. Trees provide food, protection, and homes for many birds and mammals.
How Trees Help to Save Energy
Planting trees can also help cool your home in the summer. The Arbor Day Foundation states that the overall effect of the shade created by planting a healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners running 20 hours a day!
In the winter, trees can act as windbreaks for your home and will help you save on heating costs. The Journal of Horticulture claims that saving on heating costs can reach as much as 25 percent!
Trees shade buildings, streets, and homes. If enough trees are planted in cities, the overall microclimate improves and total energy use for heating and cooling is reduced. The EPA has some great information on how planting trees and other vegetation can help to reduce the overall high temperature of your city!
Statistics
CO2 is one of the major contributing elements to the greenhouse effect. Trees trap CO2 from the atmosphere and make carbohydrates that are used for plant growth. They give us oxygen in return. According to ColoradoTree.org, about 800 million tons of carbon are stored in the trees that make up the urban forests of the U.S. This translates to a savings of $22 billion in control costs. Mature trees can absorb roughly 48 pounds of CO2 a year. The tree in turn releases enough oxygen to sustain two human beings.
Trees also help to reduce ozone levels in urban areas. In New York City, a 10 percent increase in urban canopy translated to a reduction of peak ozone levels by around 4 parts per billion. (Source: Luley, Christopher J.; Nowak, David J. 2004. Help Clear the Smog with Your Urban Forest: What You and Your Urban Forest Can Do About Ozone.)
Trees reduce urban runoff and erosion by storing water and breaking the force of rain as it falls. The USDA reports that 100 mature trees can reduce runoff caused by rainfall by up to 100,000 gallons!
Trees also absorb sound and reduce noise pollution. This is especially important for people who live near freeways. In some cases, a well planted group of trees can reduce noise pollution by up to 10 decibels. (Source: New Jersey Forest Service.)
Additionally, trees shade asphalt and trees, reducing what is know as the “Heat Island” effect. The EPA has some great information on how planting trees and other vegetation can help to reduce the urban heat island effect.
As you can see, it’s clear that trees are essential to our life on the planet. The great thing is that we as humans can play an active role in planting trees to help offset deforestation and urbanization.
Every month you host with Cr8 change we plant a tree on your behalf through americanforest.org. To find out more about planting trees and this organization visit www.americanforests.org.
If you have a special request about having the tree donation go to a specific American Forests project see the list of organizations below. Then email daniela@cr8change.org with your special request. We will be happy to fulfill the request on the specific project. Please limit your request to one organization, as trees are bought in bulks. Otherwise your trees will be planted where they are needed the most.
THE RIGHT TREE FOR THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
Every CR8Change Green Hosting Tree Planting account affiliated the ABA SEER Program will plant one new tree per month through their organization. The American Bar Association’s Section on Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER) announces its “Right Tree for the Right Place at the Right Time” nationwide public service project. The project calls on ABA members to contribute to the goal of planting one million trees across the United States in the next five years. In addition to the actual planting of trees, SEER also intends, through public outreach and partnering efforts, to raise the nation’s awareness of the multiple benefits of trees.
A key proposal of the project is ABA SEER’s partnerships with well recognized tree-planting organizations, including American Forests. Members will be encouraged to get involved in hands-on tree planting activities in their communities in addition to purchasing a tree or trees through the program partners.
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
California Wildfire ReLeaf
AMERICAN FORESTS’ Wildfire ReLeaf program is a large-scale tree planting initiative started in 1999 to plant millions of trees in areas scorched by catastrophic wildfires. The dramatic wildfires in southern California in the fall of 2007 have created tremendous additional need for reforestation. With the increase in size and intensity of wildfires comes a more urgent need to rehabilitate damaged areas to prevent further degradation of forest ecosystems.
Drought conditions in many states, including California, and the effects of decades of fire suppression have given rise to hundreds of fires in the United States. AMERICAN FORESTS designated a fund specifically to restore California forests after receiving an outpouring of questions and requests from California residents and people across the United States. AMERICAN FORESTS has set a goal of planting a million trees in the state.
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
Global ReLeaf International
Global ReLeaf International, with the help of individuals, corporations and partnerships across the globe, has helped protect the Siberian Tiger and restore its natural habitat in Eastern Russia, replant the war-torn city of Sarajevo after residents were forced to cut city trees for fuel for heat and cooking, and reforest the tree canopy of Orangutan habitat in Indonesia & Malaysia.
Each year new projects are started to replant trees in much needed areas around the globe. Contribute now to help our reforestation efforts abroad.
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
Katrina ReLeaf Fund
In 2005 Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast destroying much of the area’s urban and rural tree canopy. The Katrina ReLeaf Fund, will provide grants to communities to replant trees whose shade and other benefits are vital to restoring livability.
Major support from The Home Depot Foundation has established a solid foundation for the Fund, and an advisory committee with representatives from Gulf state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and donors will aid the Fund and set priorities for distribution of resources. Help restore communities along the Gulf Coast today.
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
American Forests is proud to support the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign. For every $1 that you donate, American Forests will plant a tree in one of our Global ReLeaf forests.
The campaign encourages individuals, communities, businesses, and governments to plant trees to slow climate change. The idea for Plant for the Planet was inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2004 and founder of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement.
The response has been so overwhelming, UNEP has increased its initial goal of 1 billion trees, announced in 2006, to 7 billion by the time a UN climate conference in Denmark starts on Nov. 30, 2009. You can help. To learn more, visit www.unep.org
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
South Texas Wildlife Refuge
Since 1997 American Forests’ Global ReLeaf has supported restoration efforts on the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Both the Central and Mississippi flyways funnel through the southern tip of Texas and many species of birds reach their extreme northernmost range here.
In addition, subtropic, temperate, coastal, and desert influences converge at this juncture, creating an ideal situation for species diversity.Considered one of the most biologically diverse NWRs in the continental United States, LRGV is home to 11 distinct biotic communities, 484 different species of birds, and over 300 species of butterflies. Less than 5 percent of this unique ecosystem remains. Join American Forests and Cr8Change in restoring this unique ecosystem today.
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
Tree of Life Campaign
A Tree of Life Grove located in Tahoe National Forest at a place called Onion Valley. An illegal campfire started the Gap fires in Onion Valley a few years ago and this area is in need of restoration. The fire was so intense the forest is having problems regenerating.
The Gap Fires decimated the area leaving blackened tree skeletons standing on white and black ash-covered ground. The Forest’s soil productivity, watershed integrity and wildlife habitat have been heavily impacted.
Every CR8Change Green Hosting account plants one new tree, every month.
