Skip to content

Kathryn Rose Newey

~ Books, Poems, Worksheets for Earth and Universe Warriors ~

Menu
  • Home
  • Eco-Lit Books
    • Animals in the Forest: The Day Terrible Things Came
    • The Zoo Animals’ Faraway Dream (Special Edition)
    • The Zoo Animals’ Faraway Dream
  • Science-Fiction Books
    • The Space Hamster and the Universal Code
    • Ilnoblet Elmer and the Alien Water Thieves
  • Poems
  • Worksheets & Posters
    • ‘Science Fiction Station’ Videos & Worksheets
    • ‘English Literacy’ Wonder-Worksheets Booklet Set A
    • ‘Environmental’ Wonder-Worksheets Booklet Set B
    • All Worksheets and Posters
  • Writing & Self-Publishing
  • News & Fun Blog
  • Connect
    • Contact Me
    • Sign up for Free Worksheets, Posters & Newsletters!
    • Author Talks, School Visits & Writing Workshops
    • Privacy Notice
Menu

4 Reasons Why We Need Every Tree and Plant on Planet Earth!

Posted on 19th December 201911th June 2020 by Kathryn Rose Newey

The Amazon is burning! Forests are being cleared by the football-field! Trees are being cut back or felled!

These things are awful, but why should we care? What have trees got to do with us?

Why do we need trees?

You might have heard that trees are the “lungs of the Earth”.

In a nutshell, this is how it works: Humans and animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Trees and plants use carbon dioxide, water and light during photosynthesis and release oxygen. At the same time, and especially at night, trees also use oxygen, but generally growing plants release more oxygen than they use.

Hence humans, animals, trees and plants are all dependent on each other for essential molecules in the air to stay alive.

It is estimated that per year, each person uses the oxygen created by 7-8 mature (older/larger) trees.

It’s not just the larger forests like the Amazon rainforest we should be worried about. Where you live, how many individual trees or small forests have been cut back or completely cleared? All of these are essential to life on Earth.

Trees provide shelter and homes for lots of wildlife.

The idea that it’s somehow okay to cut back or chop down individual trees, as long as it’s not during the nesting season for birds (in Spring) is bizarre – as birds and other creatures such as squirrels, mice, spiders, caterpillars/butterflies, bees and a wide variety of other insects rely on trees all year round, and especially in winter, to rest or sleep in, as food sources, and for twigs and leaves to use for their nests/cocoons to bring up their young in.

Larger animals such as Orangutans, Pandas, Koalas and many monkeys and apes live most of their lives in trees. Even if wildlife don’t actually live in trees, they may rely on the shade, foliage and shelter of trees or forests to survive.

Trees improve environments and help slow climate change.

Trees trap odours, noise and pollutants in their leaves and bark. They absorb carbon from carbon dioxide and thus help to slow or reverse the ‘greenhouse effect’ which may be contributing to over-warming our planet. Trees reduce soil erosion as their roots trap and hold soil in place.

Trees act as barriers to break up water runoff, and so can help reduce flooding. Trees shade us from harmful UV rays, and reduce water evaporation so help to save water. Trees provide natural cooling in hot, concrete urban environments thus make cities and towns more pleasant to live in.

Trees make us feel calm, bring people together and are healing.

The greenness of trees and forests increases people’s sense of peace. Studies have shown that where people have trees and plants in their home or work surroundings, they feel happier and less tired or stressed. Trees and parks attract people and encourage them to spend time together, relax and unwind.

Trees and plants provide many natural ingredients from their leaves, bark or sap which have been shown to heal numerous aliments, including digestive issues, insect bites, and even cancer, without us needing to rely on harmful pharmaceutical drugs.



Next time you’re about to cut back or fell a tree, think again!

People get out the cutting shears or call in the tree surgeons because a tree is “in the way”, “spoiling your view”, or just “getting too big”.

These are simply not good enough reasons to get rid of trees or foliage when they are so important to our, and other creatures’ survival.

Become a tree advocate and defender instead, and plant and protect trees!

Get your free poster summarising the importance of trees here.



Further reading:

How many trees does it take to produce oxygen for one person? – https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/how-many-trees-does-it-take-to-produce-oxygen-for-one-person/

Living among trees: Five animals that depend on forests – https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/living-among-the-trees-five-animals-that-depend-on-forests

Oxygen for plants – can plants live without oxygen – https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/can-plants-live-without-oxygen.htm

Photosynthesis – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpwmxnb/revision/1 

Study: The more trees we’re surrounded by, the lower our stress levels – https://returntonow.net/2018/09/21/study-the-more-trees-were-surrounded-by-the-lower-our-stress-levels/

The benefits of trees – https://canopy.org/tree-info/benefits-of-trees/

Top 22 benefits of trees – https://www.treepeople.org/tree-benefits

16 medicinal trees for your herbal medicine chest – https://practicalselfreliance.com/medicinal-trees/

5 reasons we need trees for a healthy planet – https://www.earthday.org/5-reasons-we-need-trees-for-a-healthy-planet/


Image credits:

Fire in forest with children in river: Image by Ria Sopala from pixabay.com

Red squirrel in tree: Image by Capri23auto from pixabay.com

Koala in tree: Image by Syahir Hakim from pixabay.com

Central Park trees: Image by David Mark from pixabay.com


 

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News, Fun & Freebies

  • Plastic in our Oceans – New Eco-Worksheet!

    Plastic in our Oceans – New Eco-Worksheet!

    15th March 2021
  • Back to Basics: 5 Fun and Easy Activities You Can Do At Home With Your Kids

    Back to Basics: 5 Fun and Easy Activities You Can Do At Home With Your Kids

    10th August 2020
  • Self-Publishing: A Guide to File Prep & Uploads for Ingramspark & Amazon KDP

    Self-Publishing: A Guide to File Prep & Uploads for Ingramspark & Amazon KDP

    15th June 2020
  • New: Interactive, Code-Cracking Novel for Middle-Graders Released

    New: Interactive, Code-Cracking Novel for Middle-Graders Released

    3rd June 2020
  • May 25th is Towel Day!

    May 25th is Towel Day!

    25th May 2020
  • New! Interactive Worksheet: ‘Trees in Numbers’

    New! Interactive Worksheet: ‘Trees in Numbers’

    10th May 2020
  • Poems Long-Listed for Erbacce-Prize for Poetry 2020!

    Poems Long-Listed for Erbacce-Prize for Poetry 2020!

    1st May 2020
  • 4 Simple Things to Consider When Making a Video

    4 Simple Things to Consider When Making a Video

    11th April 2020

Follow the Author

Books to Save the World

Kathryn Rose Newey writes quirky, interactive Environmental Fiction, Animal Rights Fiction and Science Fiction novels for ages 9-14 and older young-at-heart readers, eco-warriors and universe explorers.

As an educator as well as an author, she’s keen to expand minds. So besides the story, each novel also contains educational resources for readers to explore.

When she’s not writing, she’s probably in her wildlife-friendly, unruly garden (or wishes she was) with her pet dog, Jessie the Jack Russell, who insists on having her own website.

Contact the author here.

Jessie the Jack Russell’s Website

Click the pic to visit the world’s smartest dog’s website.
https://jessiethejackrussell.weebly.com/

Acknowledgement

Many images and photographs on this website are courtesy of photographers & artists at pixabay.com and canva.com (including Gerd Altmann, Arek Socha, and Jeroným Pelikovský from pixabay.com and nomad-photo.eu from shutterstock.com) – thank you for your beautiful pictures celebrating wildlife, the natural world and the universe!

©2021 Kathryn Rose Newey | Built using WordPress and Responsive Blogily theme by Superb