Who thought of apples?  I did.  You can grow apples in Texas.   Who thought of Medina?

Mexican Oak at Blackshear

Well, as you probably know, trees are good for many things.  Austinites especially like to have plenty of trees here in the city.

What are Trees Good For?  Trees:

• Build strong neighborhoods.
• Clean our air and make it healthy for children and other vulnerable folks like our elders to breathe.  That helps reduce asthma and heart disease.
• Reduce carbon dioxide one of the principal global warming gasses and provide oxygen for us to breathe.
• Provide shade to help us keep comfortable in the hot summer months.
• Help to cool our urban heat island.
• Provide wildlife habitat and keep the web of life healthy, diverse, and abundant.
• Provide food for both animals and humans.  Think of the State Tree of Texas which has produced in such abundance this year.  You can see people all over Austin getting great exercise standing and bending to collect a profuse amount of pecans under these tall, shady trees.
• Store water and filter pollutants from it.
• Reduce noise pollution.
• Lower our energy bills.
• Add beauty to our surroundings;
• Help us concentrate better.
• Provide a calming boost.  The presence of trees makes us feel happy.

Yes!  It feels really good to hug a tree.  We recommend at least one weekly tree-hugging for good health, clean air, and a happy heart.

Here are some other folks’ arguments for trees that we like —

Austin’s Urban Forest by City of Austin, Parks & Recreation Department, Urban Forestry Program

Air:  What’s a Tree Got to Do With It by Adam Downing

10 Reasons Living Trees are Valuable by Steve Nix

And we are currently absolutely loving the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory’s work.