Trees are our earliest neighbours and best friends. In true sense trees are our real neighbour, Trees are of tremendous value to us. They give us oxygen & without this oxygen we cannot imagine the existence of Lively Earth or life. Trees are an important part of the Biosphere that exists on earth. They provide shade to men and animals. Trees are home to numerous birds, insects and animals. They prevent drought and cause rainfall. They help in checking environmental pollution like, air pollution, soil pollution etc. & trees also are a natural medium to prevent soil erosion. They give us oxygen to breathe in and absorb the carbon dioxide. So, we should promote forestation. Unfortunately, trees are being cut indiscriminately. Rapid industrialization, urbanization and population growth have contributed to the loss of trees. In this way we have done great loss to ourselves. So, in every year on the occasion of World Planting Day we should promise to plant at least one tree for ourselves. It is the crying need of the hour to plant more and more trees. Trees are valuable natural resource. We should conserve them. We should promote afforestation. This is good for larger benefit of society. Most often we plant trees to provide shade and beautify our landscapes. These are great benefits but trees also provide other less obvious benefits. Social Benefits Trees make life nicer. It has been shown that spending time among trees and green spaces reduces the amount of stress that we carry around with us in our daily lives. Hospital patients have been shown to recover from surgery more quickly when their hospital room offered a view of trees. Children have been shown to retain more of the information taught in schools if they spend some of their time outdoors in green spaces. Trees are often planted as living memorials or reminders of loved ones or to commemorate significant events in our lives.

Environmental Benefits

Trees offer many environmental benefits. Trees reduce the urban heat island effect through evaporative cooling and reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches parking lots and buildings. This is especially true in areas with large impervious surfaces, such as parking lots of stores and industrial complexes. Trees improve our air quality by filtering harmful dust and pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide from the air we breathe. Trees give off oxygen that we need to breathe. Trees reduce the amount of storm water runoff, which reduces erosion and pollution in our waterways and may reduce the effects of flooding.

Trees combat climate change

Excess carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by many factors is a building up in our atmosphere and contributing 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 amount of CO2 produced when you drive your car 26,000 miles.

Mental Health.

Feeling down? Take a walk in the woods. Several studies have found that access to nature yields better cognitive functioning, more self-discipline, and greater mental health overall. One study even found that hospital patients who can see trees out their windows are hospitalized 8 percent fewer days than their counterparts.

Temperature Control.

The shade and wind-breaking qualities that trees provide benefit everyone from the individual taking shelter from a hot summer day to entire cities. The annual mean air temperature of a city with 1 million people or more can be 1.8–5.4°F (1–3°C) warmer than its surroundings. Planting trees reduces this “heat island effect”. And households with shade trees could spend 12% less on cooling costs in the summer.

Flood Control.

Trees can hold vast amounts of water that would otherwise stream down hills and surge along rivers into towns. That’s why trees are such an important part of stormwater management for many cities.

Wildlife Habitat.

Wildlife use trees for food, shelter, nesting, and mating. These habitats support the incredible variety of living things on the planet, known as biodiversity. By protecting trees, we also save all the other plants and animals they shelter.