By Chris Kovatch

This past Monday was Earth Day. A day focused on environmental protection that was first celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is a day that we all should focus on.

Maintaining and improving our planet’s health is vitally important to our future way of life. While making major changes is a huge task, we can each play a part in it.

When I shared on Facebook about the tree planting project I did with my kids, I received a nice message from Ralph Thon, a fellow member of the Orange Lions Club. He provided me with a document that shares a number of facts about the impact planting trees have not only on our natural environment but on us personally as well. I want to share a few of those with you this week.

• A tree can be a natural air conditioner. The evaporation from a single tree can produce the cooling effect of 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours per day.
• Trees help settle out and trap dust, pollen, and smoke from the air. The dust level in the air can be as much as 75-percent lower on the sheltered side of the tree compared to the windward side.
• One large tree can supply a day’s supply of oxygen for four people.
• An acre of trees absorbs enough carbon dioxide in a year to equal the amount produced when you drive a car 26,000 miles.

These are just a handful of the benefits that planting trees can have.

My initial goal in planting ours was a memory making first and aesthetics second. Never did I think about the impact that the six trees would have on the environment.

Earth Day is one day per year.

In all honesty, we should live each day as if it was Earth Day. Look for opportunities to have a positive impact on the environment. Pick up trash, recycle, or planting a tree are easy ways to do just that.

I frequent Cottage Cuttings and Friedeck’s and they have been most helpful in sharing what plants will thrive in our local environment. Take an opportunity to visit one of these businesses or any other nursery to get tips and quality native plants to not only beautify your home but more importantly to have a positive impact on our environment.

I want to end this article with a quote from one of my favorite books. While Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax is a child’s book, its message is ageless.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”