For some of you, it’s enough just to see or think about a tree, and you immediately understand—deep within your being—its importance, value, grandeur in every sense, and wisdom. This text is for everyone else, for those who need professional words and numbers to explain something that their bodies already feel and know quite well. So, here we go…
Urban forests, tree-lined streets, and even individual trees provide countless benefits to citizens and the surrounding environment.
Today, in January, it’s perhaps most obvious how much trees actually protect us from air pollution. You can’t take an evening walk through Podgorica or other towns in central and northern Montenegro without your eyes, throat, and nose burning from toxic gases and particles (unless the wind blows them away or rain clears them). However, those who walk through Gorica at night can tell you: it’s the only place in Podgorica where you can breathe freely at night!
Trees absorb harmful gases and particles through their leaves (you’ve probably heard of dangerous PM particles of different sizes—some so small they go straight into our lung alveoli and even beyond, as they’re smaller than the barriers at the end of the alveoli, entering directly into the bloodstream). It’s been calculated that just 100 trees can remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 195 kilograms of air-polluting particles per year. Now imagine if we decided to cover all of modern-day Podgorica in greenery—how much easier we would make things for ourselves and for those who come after us.
It’s estimated that over its 50-year lifespan, a single tree produces oxygen worth around €28,000, contributes to air purification that would otherwise cost about €56,000, recycles water worth about €34,000, and helps prevent erosion that would otherwise require €28,000. In other words, 100 trees in public spaces save a city about €200,000 over 40 years, while the same number of trees in private yards save about €240,000, or €6,000 annually.
In many cases, trees reduce road maintenance costs. A hundred mature trees can retain around 523,000 liters of rainwater annually.
Without our fellow citizen—trees—the city would spend enormous sums each year on stormwater drainage systems, cleaning polluted rainwater, regulating flooded streets, and more.
The microclimate beneath and near trees is always more pleasant—both in winter and summer. People whose homes are surrounded by tree canopies save up to 56% on electricity costs for heating and cooling, compared to those living in concrete neighborhoods. Trees also reduce urban traffic noise, helping decrease human tension, and improve concentration, sleep, and so on.
People around the world have been studying urban trees for a while now, trying to precisely define their role in healthier environments—and why, for example, trees foster stronger community bonds. Of course, researchers also try to quantify how many fewer medications are bought in tree-rich neighborhoods, how much electricity is saved, and how much more productive, adaptable, or simply sociable residents of those areas are.
As a result of numerous studies and observations, it has been economically proven that trees significantly increase the value of a residential property and the success of a business—shops and cafes surrounded by trees, for example, attract more visitors than others. It’s especially touching when a business owner chooses to adapt a new building project to accommodate a tree.
But the fact that trees purify air, produce oxygen, and save tens of thousands of euros for a city and its citizens is not the only reason to recognize them as equal, helpful citizens of our communities!
Walking and living near trees boosts our mood. Moreover, tree-rich neighbourhoods report significantly lower crime rates and are considered safer and more sociable. Parks promote social interaction, reduce social and other disparities among individuals, and serve as a gateway to the wilderness for children. In this era of advanced technology and the internet, they offer a reminder of our nature and connection to the planet and ourselves.
A tree is home to many creatures that play roles in environmental health, like pollination. A tree, along with its residents (insects, birds, small mammals), makes its whole environment healthier and more comfortable for humans. We’ll always choose to walk or bike along a tree-lined street—often without realizing why.
All of these are just the basic economic and other values of trees—beings with whom we’ve coexisted and coevolved for hundreds of thousands of years—beings we pass by every day without thinking about their lives, their roles, and the services they provide us. Tree therapy is already quite popular in the world, because we, as a species, have long forgotten—but are slowly starting to remember—that a tree is always there for us. You can hug a tree when you need a hug, whisper a secret to it when you have no one else to tell, or ask it for advice—and as you wait for a response, the answer may gently rise from your own depths into your awareness. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by emotions, worries, obligations, or uncertainty—go sit under a tree. You’ll surely feel better, and you might even start to glimpse a life where such overwhelm is increasingly rare. You might even be swept up by a wave of inspiration.
We hope that after reading this, you’ll look at the trees you encounter with more understanding and greater appreciation. (Just so you know—a tree will feel that, and thanks to you, it’ll grow just a little bit greener, a little bit stronger. But more on that another time 🙂 )
Start learning about trees and nature—because that’s how you learn about yourself, and about us as a species.
And be careful!
“Don’t forget to tell your local trees how beautiful they look today!” 🙂