I came across this beautiful tree on a hiking trip.
I was lucky to have grown up on nearly two acres, and on that acreage was plenty of trees. We had a few maples in our front yard, and plenty of fruit trees in our backyard. To my mother’s dismay, we loved climbing the trees in the summertime, and even made applesauce as a family one year. (My job was to climb the tree and shake the branches, to make the apples fall out.)
And I’m not the only one to hold trees in high regard. As the Tribune reports, staffers and volunteers from the Morton Arboretum will place tags on more than 400 trees “showing the dollar value of the environmental benefits supplied by each one over a span of 15 years.”
Apparently, there’s a method of coming up with how much a tree is worth over the years in environmental benefit. Trees absorb pollutants, offsetting the cost of controlling pollution otherwise, and the related cost on health care as a result.
If you have your own trees, find out how much they are worth: Visit the National Tree Benefit Calculator and type in the type of tree, where it is, and how big it is. It’ll give you the estimated cost of how much that tree is worth, and how much it will be worth if you allow it to grow even more.
What do you think? Do you have fond memories of trees that were a part of your childhood? How much value would you put on a tree?
This post was brought to you by Left Bank at Kinzie Station. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and stop by the Left Bank Lounge.
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please submit your email below. 
