All things green, outdoors, and nature-y. Whether it's animals in their natural habitat, hiking trails and mountains, or planting a little garden for yourself (and everything in between), you can talk about it here.
See also our Environment community, which is focused on weather, climate, climate change, and stuff like that.
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[Image description: an image from the movie Dazed and Confused with text that reads "'This summer is too hot'. Me: 'Have you ever planted trees?' 'No.' Me: 'Be a lot cooler if you did'"
On a related note I planted several chestnut trees yesterday.
Because of the shadow maybe. But it's practically impossible to offset the human carbon footprint with trees.
But they really help with microclimates. Shade and evaporation from their leaves make the air a lot cooler under the trees.
They also, through their roots, help water runoff to enter the ground and feed the groundwater table instead of creating erosion or floods.
Don't discount specific area cooling from transpiration, some papers suggest anywhere from .5°C - 4°C differences in temperature when adjusted for shade
They help significantly to combat the heat island effect in cities and provide shade and cooler microclimates for people to shelter in when it's hot.
Just try going to a shady tree-lined path vs. a paved treeless path on a sunny day and you'll be pretty clear on the meaning of this meme.
So yes we can't stop global warming with trees alone but we can mitigate the local effects of it all while providing habitat for birds and shade for people and lots of other benefits besides.
This article has a pretty good review if you want to take a look at some of the benefits! https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4371
And here's a more plain-language website about urban trees: https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/the-power-of-urban-trees-2023
I have two potential routes for one specific part of my journey home from work. One is shaded, the other is not.
The difference in temperature I perceive is MASSIVE. Maybe the difference in air temperature isn't, but a couple of degrees difference in ambient temp + not having the sun actively microwave me adds up.
All that heat reflecting from the ground isn't getting you when it's shaded!
That's what I love about these sapling trees, man. I get older, they stay the same age.
all Ribes all Ribes all Ribes
I think most of us have a hard time finding anywhere to plant.
If you're not a landowner, you'll have to volunteer somewhere, but I've looked it up before and there aren't that many opportunities in my country. The organization in charge of national forests has their own staff for it.
Ironically the best way to get into it here is to join a specific local fuel station chain's "donate a cent per liter and we match, every 25 cents is a tree" community, which occasionally reaches out to members to help plant all the trees they've received donations for. So the easiest way to get to plant trees is to... buy fossil fuels???
That's a very valid point, and I'll freely acknowledge that I am privileged enough to have the space to grow and plant trees.
Keep looking for those opportunities, though! I won't pretend to know the governance of your country, but if there are public spaces in your area there must be people who administer them, and they may be open to planting more trees if the public is behind it.
To be fair, public spaces in my country already have loads of trees in most places. In my city, there's a park that doesn't get mowed because they're letting it grow into a grove. The trees are also very tall and healthy. It's goddamn beautiful. Incidentally it's also part of my commute whenever I walk (which depends on how early I manage to wake up, really)
Oh, god damn. Took me far too long to get it, then I laughed my arse off.
a single person planting trees would be cool but it wouldn't be cooler, you need a lot of trees
In terms of reducing CO2 levels, yeah, but trees do also help cool down locally by simply providing shade and also because they evaporate water, which is an endothermic process.
Welp the tree I planted in my yard last year is dying from the heat now .. Got on that too late I guess. I might try a cactus next.
That stinks ...
Are you able to give it long soaking waterings, or possibly even shade it for part of the day? We've done this for some of our trees that were really affected by drought conditions two years ago with good results.
"But they drop leaves in the yard and that's messy!"
Ok?
"And then I have to rake the leaves up!!"
Why?
"Because that's what you're supposed to do!"
Why?
Brain has BSOD
You gotta mulch the he'll outta that free sweet sweet leaf fertilizer.