National Arbor Day is April 24th

Bay County, Michigan - National Arbor Day is April 24th and has been celebrated for centuries in many countries around the world by planting trees. “Arbor” in Latin means „tree‟ and the tree holiday is meant to encourage people to plant new trees and to recognize the value of trees in their yards and the benefits trees provide throughout their community. This year unfortunately most tree plantings have been postponed due to Covid-19. However, we can still celebrate the many different benefits and species of trees that grow and add real value to our homes and neighborhoods. Can you imagine what your street would look like if it didn‟t have any trees? The blossoming trees in Spring and the dramatic colors of Fall provide a cultural rite of passage of the seasons.

The Bay County Gypsy Moth Program works to protect trees on our pubic park lands and streets from invasive pests such as Gypsy Moths and Emerald Ash Borer that can damage and kill trees. Healthy trees provide tangible environmental and economic benefits, as well as help reduce energy costs by providing cooling shade during hot summers. This Arbor Day instead of planting new trees Bay County is sharing the National Tree Benefit Calculator, a free online tool that allows anyone to enter their own tree data such as location, species, and tree trunk size and the tool calculates the estimated environmental and economic benefits the tree provides on an annual basis.

The National Tree Benefit Calculator is simple to use, very accessible, and should be considered a starting point when learning about and understanding a tree‟s value in our community. For example, an Ash tree from the Gypsy Moth Suppression Program‟s inventory and treatment operations is a 14.5 inch wide tree that is in front of a single family residence. This tree will provide overall energy, economic and ecological benefits of $141.00 annually to the home. If this same tree is well taken care of and grows up to 19.5 inches in diameter, it will provide $192.00 in annual benefits. Additional benefits of this one (1) 14.5 inch ash tree include intercepting 1,394 gallons of stormwater runoff per year, raises the property value by $48 per year, reduces atmospheric carbon by 797 pounds, and conserves 223 Kilowatt hours of electricity for cooling and reduces consumption of oil or natural gas by 26 thermal units – These are big benefits that grow each year as the tree matures.

To find out more about the value of your trees and what is being done to protect them, visit the Bay County Gypsy Moth Suppression Program website at https://www.baycounty-mi.gov/GypsyMoth/Default.aspx or wallacea@baycounty.net

To get started visit the National Tree Benefit Calculator at http://www.treebenefits.com/calculator/. If unsure what type of trees you have another fun tool is the Tree Identification feature on the Arbor Day organization website at https://www.arborday.org/trees/whatTree/ or email a picture to the Gypsy Moth Program at wallacea@baycounty.net and staff will help identify the tree.