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“Green Return: How Investing In Trees Benefits Atlanta”


Green Return: How Investing In Trees Benefits Atlanta

What if Trees Atlanta gave a gift valued at $10 Billion to the people of Atlanta? By at least one measurement, we’ve done just that.

A single street tree can provide over $90,000 of direct benefits over the course of its lifetime (Burden, 2006), and Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed over 119,000 trees in metro Atlanta since our founding in 1985. This investment was made through the financial support and volunteer efforts of citizens and partners – people who understand and value the benefits of a robust and healthy tree canopy. We continue to invest in the quality of life for our families, neighbors, and all who call “The City in the Forest” home.

Trees and their network of leaves create a canopy of important benefits. Larger trees deliver more canopy benefits, called ecosystem services, such as: reducing air pollution, lowering temperatures, mitigating storm water runoff, producing food, and supporting wildlife. These benefits are of critical value to the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land on which we live, and should motivate us to invest in protecting and restoring our green canopy.

By Dave Simpson, Education Program Coordinator, Trees Atlanta

Read more at www.saportareport.com