Why Care About Trees?

For some people, the act of taking a walk outdoors provides a connection with the earth…one way we can bond with Mother Nature and appreciate her children, the trees. Consider, too, that your walk wouldn’t be the same without the beauty that trees produce, the shade that trees provide or the air and noise pollution that trees absorb.

In addition to environmental benefits like these, the International Society of Aboriculture reminds us that trees bring social, communal and economic boosts. And, tree-powered political impact was affirmed in 2004 when a tree-planting ecologist won a Nobel Prize!

According to Nobel.org, the 2004 Peace prize winner, Kenya’s Dr. Wangara Maathai, (pictured here) formed a Green Belt Movement focused on planting trees with women’s groups in order to improve their quality of life and conserve the environment. Her work includes efforts to curb land-grabbing and detrimental allocation of forest lands. She's inspired African women to plant more than 20 million trees at school and church compounds and on farms.

Our takeaway? As we begin to care more and more about 'walking and wellness' for ourselves and those we love, may we simultaneously begin to discover a global web of ideas and concerns categorized by keywords like ecology and conservation, stewardship and justice, empowerment and peace.

Hug, Plant or Just Admire A Tree Today,
Elizabeth

Photo: GoogleImages

Tags: Wangari Maathai, Green Belt Movement, Nobel Peace Prize, walking and trees