5 simple reasons why we should take care of our trees

At the very beginning of our human experience, trees were considered sacred and honorable: oaks were worshiped by the European Druids, redwoods a part of American Indian ritual, baobabs a part of African tribal life, to the Chinese the ginkgo link and monkey puzzles to the Chilean Pehuenche. Romans and scholars during the middle Ages venerated trees in their literature.

The trees around us are extremely important and have always been necessary for improving the human condition - both during its life and after harvest. It is not a stretch to believe that without trees we humans would not exist on this beautiful planet. In fact, some claim can be made that our mother's and father's ancestors climbed trees - another debate for another site.

The modern human community has other, more practical reasons to admire and honor trees. Here are some of the reasons why trees are necessary for improving our worldly condition. The list might not be exhaustive but the message will remain, trees are important.

          1.   Trees are food

We all gather our nutritional products from trees including fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, bark and even sap. Tree products have been an important part of diets for thousands of years, from early humans gathering fruits and nuts to the first cultivation of plants and animals.

2.           Trees Produce Oxygen

We all need this to live. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. What we also don't realize is that trees that clean the air we breathe.

3.           Trees Clean the Soil

Trees filter sewage and farm chemicals, reduce the effects of animal wastes, clean roadside spills and clean water runoff into streams. Trees absorb dangerous chemicals and other pollutants that may have entered the soil. Trees can either store harmful pollutants or actually change the pollutant into less harmful forms.

4.           Trees Stores Carbon “Sinks”

To produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gasses causing global warming. 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.

5.            Trees are medicine

An estimated 50,000 plant species are used medicinally.  Medicine from trees, extracted from the wood, bark, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits or seeds is fundamental to the well-being of millions of people. Where access to modern pharmaceuticals is limited, trees offer living pharmacies open to anyone with traditional knowledge on their medicinal properties.

My name is Kenfrey Kipchumba Katui and I am the Founder and the Executive Director of Scope Intervention.  Write to me via director@scopeintervention.org