Sustainable Benefits of Planting Trees

Most of us know a thing or two about the benefits of planting trees. But how much do we really know about the sustainable benefits of planting trees and the crucial role they play in our everyday lives?

Could we name a few ecological, environmental, and even social benefits of planting trees?  Beyond providing us with the oxygen we need to breathe, what else do trees create? How do trees affect you and me individually? And how can you help?

In today’s post, Chris from Click A Tree explains why trees are so important, and why we need to plant as many as possible. Luckily, it’s never been easier! All it takes is a few clicks on your screen, and Click A Tree takes care of the rest.

Here are some of the most important reasons why you should care about planting trees.

Ecological Benefits of Planting Trees

Vital Habitat for Endangered Animal Species 

Everybody loves animals, and the truth is that many of them need trees for habitat. Whether they’re the biggest land-based mammals or the tiniest crustaceans in the sea, planting trees brings a lot of benefits to the wildlife that we know and love.

Unfortunately, many animals that depend on trees are currently endangered. Trees provide them with food, shelter, and nursing grounds for their young. When trees disappear, it becomes much more difficult for these animals to survive.

This is especially true for endemic species that are only found in one place on our planet. Where there are high levels of deforestation, these unique animals may never be seen again.

Wildlife plays a huge part in every national park we visit, and every birdwatching trip around the world. Let’s make sure that we plant enough trees for that wildlife to thrive.

A Healthier, Greener Environment for All of Us

Looking at the bigger picture, there are a lot of sustainable benefits of planting trees for our atmosphere as well. Trees are natural carbon sinks, meaning they store incredible amounts of carbon that has been released into our atmosphere.

That’s pretty cool, right? Now, remember that as well as storing carbon, trees provide us with oxygen too! But more on that later.

Trees are one of our most effective weapons in the battle against climate change. They reduce the impact of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and help to combat the emissions we create.

Our planet is rapidly heating up, and we can help to control that by planting more trees.

Environmental Benefits of Planting Trees

Trees Protect Land

We’ll bet you didn’t know about this one! One of the lesser-known benefits of planting trees is that they help to hold the ground together. Literally. Trees – and their roots – keep our land and soil compact, fighting desertification in the process.

Mangrove trees, in particular, are excellent at replenishing our land and ensuring that it doesn’t dry out and turn to desert. We can’t grow many crops in the desert, can we?

On top of that, mangrove trees act as a natural barrier to big waves that can easily destroy coastlines during heavy storms. They help to prevent flooding and even replenish the soil with vitamins and minerals. And all of this while absorbing huge amounts of carbon!

We Can’t Get Enough of Breathing

I like breathing. You like breathing. Everybody likes breathing! And one of the most important benefits of planting trees is that they produce much of the oxygen we need to breathe every second, every minute, of every single day.

A world without trees doesn’t bear thinking about. When trees are impacted, then you and I are too. Let’s keep on planting trees and ensuring that, as well as storing carbon and battling global warming, they continue to produce the oxygen we depend on.

Better Soil and Cooler Air

We’ve already mentioned the role that trees play in protecting our land. But trees do more than just protect it – turns out they improve it as well.

Deep tree roots are constantly working the soil and filtering it. They bring buried nutrients and minerals to the surface so that other crops can benefit from them. Their decomposing leaves are also nutritious to plants surrounding them. Wherever there are trees, there’s healthy, nutritious soil.

In a similar way, trees are constantly filtering our air and purifying it for us. This one’s all to do with the water cycle: trees absorb rain and transpire vapour back into the atmosphere as required. They help to control the humidity of our atmosphere and naturally cool the air as well.

Social Benefits of Planting Trees

Planting Trees Creates Long-Term Work 

All we’ve talked about so far is the planet! I mean, Mother Earth is kind of important, of course…but what about the people populating our planet?

One of the single biggest benefits of planting trees is that it creates a huge amount of work. At Click A Tree, we don’t just scatter seeds into the ground and hope for the best. Far from it.

Instead, we carefully select the tree species that we think will best represent a natural forest. We plant the seeds and wait for them to grow. Then, these young trees are cared for and looked after in our nurseries to ensure that they have the best possible chance of survival.

And even when they have been planted, we continue to prune and care for those trees in the wild. Doing this on a large scale requires a huge amount of work hours over a long period of time.

And It Helps Communities Thrive

In many of the developing countries where we plant trees, stable and dependable work is exactly what’s needed! Our tree-planting sites are often in communities where a steady wage is hard to find, and opportunities are limited.

As our workers grow a career (no pun intended) planting trees, they gather a fair wage and can afford simple necessities that they couldn’t justify before. Simple things like food, clothing, and even education. The benefits of planting trees are significant on a social and economic level.

We all know that more work means more tax. These communities can build an infrastructure and create a truly self-sustainable model. Planting trees even helps to support entrepreneurship schools, like this one in Ghana.

There are all kinds of benefits of planting trees. For the endangered animals around the world, for our planet, for you, and for me.

I hope this article gave you an overall perspective and the sustainable benefits of planting trees. Let’s plant as many trees as we can. Plant a tree today to help protect Mother Earth and provide a future for every single one of us.

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