Not only do trees provide leafy cool shade in the hot months and beautiful accents to school grounds year round – but there are so many other benefits to trees and myriad ways to teach about these benefits in the classroom.
Three Benefits of Trees
(Statistics from Tree People and Tree Canada).
TREES COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE Excess carbon dioxide (CO2) builds up in our atmosphere and contributes to climate change. Trees absorb CO2, removing and storing the carbon while releasing the oxygen back into the air. In one year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the same amount of CO2 produced from a car driving 41,800 kilometres. Tree Canada has a great resource on how trees filter CO2.
TREES ARE THE AIR WE BREATHE Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark. Trees are the air we breathe: a mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs/year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings. One acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year!
TREES CAN HELP WITH HEAT Trees provide shade in the summer, which saves on air conditioning costs, and conifers insulate homes in the winter which reduces heating costs. In urban areas, planting trees can help shade asphalt which makes streets and parking lots cooler and extends the life of the asphalt. Besides balancing out temperature, tree shade can protect delicate skin: planting trees in school grounds provides great protection from harmful UV rays.
MORE INSPIRATION Read about the ‘social networks of trees’ in the New York Times. Watch this video about ‘forest kindergarten’ in Switzerland, another gorgeous video from the 2016 International Day of Forests, and an informative animation that points to some of the problems in forest management.
Grow Green Awareness
A great way to express your EcoTeam’s love of trees is through visuals: this can help bring environmental learning into subjects such as art and media literacy. Pair current stats and facts with images to create a poster campaign leading up to a school tree planting or invite students to create art or write journal entries based on a hike in the forest!
On
e example of tree visuals is this recent graphic by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. It was shared on social media with this fact: “Trees help fight #climatechange by removing CO2 from the atmosphere #WednesdayWisdom #ONclimate #Rooting4Trees”
The World Wildlife Fund also had a classic ad from 2009 that connects deforestation with the loss of air quality. Be sure to research what other organizations have done to get inspiration before beginning your posters and signs.
Other Resources to Explore
FOR THE CLASSROOM: Check out Ontario EcoSchools’ Tree ID lesson (grade 3). Forest Ontario has amazing resources for teachers from K-12, including the popular Tree Bee. Tree Canada provides a “Grow Clean Air” carbon calculator to figure out your footprint. Acer (Assoc. for Canadian Educational Resources) has a rich range of citizen science resources, with at least three sections focused on trees.
FOR PLANTING: One comprehensive resource is the native plant guide by Evergreen. Tree Atlas by Government of Ontario, and Ontario EcoSchools’ School Ground Greening guide have excellent facts, stats, and tips. This year, Earth Day Canada is #Rooting4Trees heading into its 25th Anniversary. ’s 50 year birthday. If you and your class want to get involved in Earth Day’s annual fundraising initative,fundraise for a non-profit, consider checking out their tree-focused crowdfunding campaign, as well as all their information on trees and tree planting.
EVENTS: Arbor Day (April 29, 2016), National Tree Day (Wednesday September 21, 2016), National Forest Week (September 18-24, 2016), International Day of Forests (annually on March 21).
GRANTS: Tree Canada has a year-round Greening Canada’s School Grounds grant. Learn about a school in Ottawa that transformed ‘asphalt to apple trees’ and the Evergreen Canada grant that got them there. Plan ahead for next year and apply for a Copernicus grant that supplies tree seedlings to schools. Visit our Funding Opportunities page for more ideas.
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