Have you found the books Clark gave to elementary school libraries? This year’s book is Drop: An Adventure through the Water Cycle

There are many benefits to planting more trees

Planting a tree is a positive (and beautiful!) way to make a positive impact on the environment. After all, trees clean the air, prevent erosion, and even buffer climate change. Planting a tree at your school, backyard, or as part of a restoration project is one of the easiest ways to improve the world around you.

Social benefits

Trees and green spaces reduce stress!

Trees can reduce traffic noise

Having a view of trees has been shown to help hospital patients recover more quickly

Tree-lined streets can calm traffic so it moves more safely

Children who spend time in nature may be able to learn and retain information better

Economic benefits

Trees planted on the south and west sides of a building can reduce cooling costs in summer

Trees planted on the north side of a building can reduce heating costs in winter

Nicely landscaped homes have higher property values

When homes use less energy, power companies can meet demand and use fewer resources

Environmental benefits

Trees improve air quality

Trees give off oxygen

The wildlife around us use trees for food, protection, and habitat

Trees reduce erosion by limiting runoff

Trees reduce the urban heat island effect

PowerZone Fun Fact Gif

One mature big leaf maple tree provides as much nectar and pollen as an acre of flowers.

Trees and power lines do not mix

As you might imagine, trees can be dangerous when they’re too close to power lines! If a tree branch touches a power line, power outages can occur or, even worse, the area can become a shock hazard.

For that reason, it’s important to keep trees pruned so they don’t touch power lines. That’s why you sometimes see trees that are U-or V-shaped — they’ve been pruned to remove the branches too close to wires. Sometimes, these trees might look strange or misshaped but directional pruning is best in this situation.

Tree trimmed around power lines

Only professionals should attempt to prune branches close to power lines because it’s extremely dangerous work. That’s why Clark Public Utilities operates a tree-trimming program, which keeps branches at a safe distance from overhead lines. Not only does this prevent injuries but it helps prevent power outages, too. Adults can request a free tree trimming for any trees that present a possible danger to our power system.

Plant trees with the Clark Public Utilities StreamTeam

The Clark Public Utilities StreamTeam plants more than 50,000 native trees a year!

These trees help restore salmon habitat, reduce the presence of invasive species, and improve water quality by reducing erosion. Our volunteers clear the ground, dig holes, and plant over 30 varieties of trees! These volunteer opportunities are a great way to learn about our environment while having fun with those in your community.

Learn more about StreamTeam’s planting opportunities!

PowerZone Dig Deeper Safety Gif

The urban heat island effect is a fascinating phenomenon that occurs due to temperature contrasts between cities and rural areas. What’s one big difference between these two areas? Cities have lots of buildings and parking lots and the country has lots of plants, whether it’s forests or farmland. Building materials, such as concrete and steel, absorb the sun’s heat more than the natural landscape does. Plants, on the other hand, release water vapor in a process called transpiration – this helps to cool the air! Cities become “islands” of warmer temperatures surrounded by cooler rural areas. We can help cool cities by planting trees and even installing green roofs on buildings.

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