The historic communities of Beverly, Morgan Park and Ridge are some of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city. Charming architecture and pride of ownership certainly account for much of the area’s character and ambiance. But credit also should go to their trees, especially the glorious mature oaks.

The century-old oaks lining the parkways and gracing the lawns a of these communities are among the oldest in the city. Once part of a magnificent oak-hickory forest, these heritage trees are now extremely rare in Chicago. These impressive trees, with their imposing trunks, sprawling, glossy-leaved branches and towering crowns have highly prized cultural meaning. They imply strength, dignity, trustworthiness. Oaks say:  We are a community that respects our history and we intend to hand down our legacy to the next generation.

After all, when an urban tree lives for 50, 80 or 100 years (the average life of an urban parkway tree is less than two decades), they have endured much and seen a lot of changes.

So, when an otherwise healthy mature oak tree is cut down for inconsequential reasons—for a better view or for a thicker turf grass lawn, for example—that is a great shame.

Yes, a tree on private property belongs to that private owner. But trees are public assets, too. We should acknowledge trees’ benefits for the community as a whole and preserve and protect them whenever we can. It’s not a matter of yours or mine. It’s a matter of ours.

Local organizations such as Keeping Beverly Green: Protecting Beverly’s Wooded Heritage, are stepping up and speaking out on behalf of trees, working to increase public awareness about the benefits of trees and how to take care of them.

For the past several years, Keeping Beverly Green, led by Beverly residents Karla Winterbottom and Kathleen Tobin, has been meeting with city officials to advocate for a much-needed tree preservation policy in the city of Chicago. As the saying goes, you can’t fight city hall, but they sure are trying. I wholeheartedly support their efforts to preserve and protect urban trees. Here are some of the many economic, environmental and social benefits of trees, and why you should stand up for our trees, too.

Our trees increase home values. Quality landscaping can add 7-15% to a home’s value, according to The Gallup Organization. Large trees can affect home values in an entire neighborhood, as well as for individual homes.

Our trees help commercial districts thrive. According to research by the University of Washington, shoppers return more often to greened business districts, spend more time shopping, pay more for parking and pay up to 12% more for goods.

Our trees reduce energy usage. Air temperature can be as much as 20° F. cooler in the shade of trees than in open areas, according to the Center for Urban Forest Research in Davis, CA. Overall energy savings throughout the year can amount to 7% annually from strategically placed trees.

Our trees cool heat islands on a neighborhood scale. Collectively, concrete, pavement and structures retain excessive summer heat, driving local temperatures up 4° – 7° F. higher than vegetated areas.

Our trees sequester and store carbon. According to the U.S. Forest Service, compared to a small young tree, a large healthy tree sequesters 48 kg of carbon annually (47 times more than a small tree) and stores 2.6 metric tons of carbon (530 times more than a small tree).

Our trees clean the air. A large tree removes about 2 kg of pollution per year (65 times more than a small tree).

Our trees reduce stress, increase concentration and improve the perception of safety in a neighborhood, according to research by the University of Illinois. One study conducted in Chicago showed that levels of aggression and use of physical violence to resolve conflicts were lower when public housing residents had views of trees and nature. Other studies suggest that symptoms of ADHD were relieved after contact with nature; when children played in natural settings, they had higher levels of concentration.

Our trees speed healing. Research by Texas A & M University showed that hospital patients recovered more quickly following surgery when they had a view of a tree outside their window.

These benefits improve the quality of life for all in the community. So, let’s broaden our perspective from seeing individual trees to appreciating the urban forest that shelters the entire neighborhood.

Keeping Beverly Green needs your help to protect and care for OUR trees.

On June 19, Arboretum staff members Dr. Gary Watson and Edith Makra were among those attending a large news conference announcing the discovery. Makra spoke about the Arboretum’s efforts on wood utilization.

The following is adapted from a Morton Arboretum press release that was handed out to reporters onsite and also distributed electronically.

Bringing Ash Trees ’Back to Life’ – As Something Else

Team Works Behind the Scenes to Create Positive Outcomes

Emerald ash borer (EAB) need not spell the end of an ash tree’s “life.” The Illinois Emerald Ash Borer Wood Utilization Team has taken great strides toward creating a positive from a negative: that is, to create a marketplace for wood from EAB-felled trees.

“Right now, as urban trees are removed, they are treated entirely as waste. We need to create conditions so that these trees take a sharp detour away from the wood-chipper, and instead, are made into consumer items or otherwise put to good use,” says Edith Makra, Wood Utilization Team chairwoman and Morton Arboretum Community Trees Advocate.

Currently, most dying urban trees in the United States are not harvested for their timber. But, if they were, they could provide nearly a quarter of the hardwood consumed each year in this country, according to the U.S. Forest Service. EAB threatens to destroy the estimated 130 million ash trees in Illinois, including the estimated 20 percent of Chicago street trees that  are lined with ash.

The Wood Utilization Team, comprised of 13 representatives of state, federal and local organizations, received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service Wood Education Resource Center last year. The team seeks to accomplish four goals that will allow EAB-felled ash to be reclaimed:

1. Arborists must bring down trees in a manner that leaves their wood marketable. The utilization team facilitated two training sessions last winter at Salt Creek Nursery in Westchester, teaching arborists to bring down urban trees with cut sections at least eight feet long. In conventional techniques, arborists remove trees in much shorter sections.

2. More sawyers are needed locally who will cut and process urban timber. Also, some sawyers perceive urban timber as undesirable – with unpredictable material in terms of size, quantity, quality and wood species. The team is surveying sawmills in the state and has taken steps to help sawyers better understand and consider urban timber.

3. Wood workers and others who purchase wood need to be aware that urban timber can meet their needs. The team is educating wood workers, architects, interior designers and others who incorporate wood into their products and plans about the favorable properties of ash wood and suggesting that these professionals consider asking for urban timber. For example, team members attended the International Green Build Conference last November, the National Cabinet Conference and Woodworking Expo in March and other recent events to encourage the use of urban timber. Team members are also reviewing labeling and certification systems that could encourage the use of urban wood.

Additionally, otherwise unusable logs, branches and bark will likely come to a useful end, too. A formerly defunct power plant in south suburban Robbins is coming back online and will need residual wood waste for fuel. This plant may wind up using EAB-felled ash trees.

4. Consumers need to become interested in purchasing products made of urban timber. The team is facilitating high-profile events, such as “Rising From The Ashes, Furniture From Lost Trees,” an exhibition of beautifully crafted furniture made of wood from EAB-felled trees. This show occurs at The Morton Arboretum August 23 – September 7, and then travels to other venues. Also, the team is collaborating with The Knapp Entrepreneurship Center of Illinois Institute of Technology, which is exploring entrepreneurial prospects. This summer and fall, an IIT class is developing a business model that would bring urban timber from property owner to market –  and produce profits.

Although EAB has created an urgent need to develop the capacity for harvesting urban ash trees, the team is laying the groundwork for reclaiming all timber from our ample urban forests.