“Blessed is the house upon whose walls the shade of an old tree gently fall”.
This quotation is from Ruskin Bond. In this adage the speaker shares the thoughts of his grandmother who was of the opinion that the house that has trees around is blessed. For this purpose he planted a tree which is six months old and is growing fast. He believes that in six years time the tree would grow and give shade so that his house will also be blessed.
What is the state of the world without the trees? Barren and brown, unblessed and uninhabited. Trees add color and breath to ecosystem. It is the earth’s source of life. Metaphorically, the trees are the songs of God and the flowers are His laughter. Trees in the modern world are sometimes forgotten and neglected. Humans overuse the demand for trees but do not plan to replace what they had consumed. What will our future become if all the trees of the present would soon vanish in the future because of human’s over consumption and wanton destruction of them.
This idea caught the attention of the Local Government of Carmona headed by Municipal Mayor Dahlia A. Loyola in support to the national program for a greener Philippines dubbed as “Puno ng Bayan” which aims to replant trees and tap the support on inter-agencies in the locality to do the same. And in response to this, the District of Carmona headed by the District Supervisor, Dr. Editha M. Atendido, initiated the kick-off program at Brgy. Lantic, Carmona,Cavite last July 29, 2011. The more than 200 teachers were able to plant each a tree seedling on a vacant lot near the river bank of Prinsa, in the said barangay. This activity will be followed by another series of tree planting activities to be done by these teachers from the nine public elementary schools in the municipality. Each teacher must plant at least 10 tree seedlings before the month of November this year. They will be given a Puno ng Bayan Verification Card by the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) headed by Mr. Rommel Peneyra. In this card, they will record the data on how many trees they have planted so far.
The world and its inhabitants are blessed to have trees and plants. Trees are important, valuable and necessary to our very existence. It's not too hard to believe that, without trees we humans would not exist on this beautiful planet.
Still, trees are essential to life as we know it and we are the ground troops on an environmental frontline. Our existing forest and the trees we plant work in tandem to make a better world.
Based on research, below are the reasons why trees are important for us.
Trees Produce Oxygen
Let's face it; we could not exist as we do if there were no trees. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. What many people don't realize is the forest also acts as a giant filter that cleans the air we breathe.
Trees Clean the Soil
The term phytoremediation is a fancy word for the absorption of dangerous chemicals and other pollutants that have entered the soil. Trees can either store harmful pollutants or actually change the pollutant into less harmful forms. Trees filter sewage and farm chemicals, reduce the effects of animal wastes, clean roadside spills and clean water runoff into streams.
Trees Control Noise Pollution
Trees muffle urban noise almost as effectively as stone walls. Trees, planted at strategic points in a neighborhood or around your house, can abate major noises from freeways and airports.
Trees Slow Storm Water Runoff
Flash flooding can be dramatically reduced by a forest or by planting trees. One Colorado blue spruce, either planted or growing wild, can intercept more than 1000 gallons of water annually when fully grown. Underground water-holding aquifers are recharged with this slowing down of water runoff.
Trees Are Carbon Sinks
To produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves. Carbon dioxide is a global warming suspect. A forest is a carbon storage area or a "sink" that can lock up as much carbon as it produces. This locking-up process "stores" carbon as wood and not as an available "greenhouse" gas.
Trees Clean the Air
Trees help cleanse the air by intercepting airborne particles, reducing heat, and absorbing such pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Trees remove this air pollution by lowering air temperature, through respiration, and by retaining particulates.
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