OPINION

A Christmas gift for Arkansas

Since it's Christmas, the peak of the gift giving season, I'm sure gifts are on your mind. You're probably wondering if you have forgotten anyone. Not only that, but you want to be sure you have the perfect gift to everyone on your list. Here's one more to add: Give a gift that the state of Arkansas really needs and wants.

I think most of us have an altruistic spirit within us, which means we have a desire to do something that benefits others. But the problem is that opportunities to do so are either too difficult or aren't available. What if, by joining with others across the state, you could make a truly meaningful contribution?

Let's look into a relatively simple way to achieve that. Here's an example: A couple of decades ago the mayor and city council of Chicago made a commitment to plant 1 million trees within the city limits of their town. The reason was to achieve a combination of natural beauty versus blank parking lots, sidewalks and interstate right of ways. As a bonus, the trees would counter the city's air pollution and help reduce utility bills.

I had an opportunity to visit Chicago before the program started, and since then have been back several times. On a recent visit I took a close look at its downtown. When I compared it to what it was like before the tree-planting plan, it was a real eye-opener.

The trees planted in the first years of the program were large enough to change a blank cityscape into an urban leafy canopy. The city council members had met the challenge of 1 million trees. Now their message is: Give us a call, we'll come and plant a tree in your front yard--for free. The tree-planting program was so successful that city officials were bombarded with requests for trees.

If this had happened in the Natural State we might not be shocked, but in concrete Chicago? No way! Wow, what a great example for Arkansas. We have cities big and small that are planting a few trees, but we're just scratching the surface.

It's not like we're not doing any planting. It's just that we can do more, and we have some help on the way. The Walton Family Foundation is providing a grant that will allow 2,000 trees of 50 species to be planted in Bella Vista, Bentonville, Centerton, Gravette, Pea Ridge, and Siloam Springs. The Foundation has a wonderful history of providing grant money to plant trees; thousands have been planted because of their generosity.

Do we need more urban and yard trees in our state? Of course we do! For proof, take one look at entryway streets in every city in the state.

We can do better, and since most of us live in or close to a forest where there are millions of surplus trees, finding one to plant is easy. After I saw what the city of Dallas had achieved with cypress trees and landscaping, I was inspired with ideas for the area around the new downtown arts district in El Dorado.

I walked about 200 yards to a small lake behind my house, dug up eight small cypress trees, and replanted them downtown. Every one of them lived, and they are doing fine. Cypress trees make good urban landscaping trees; they don't need to be at the edge of a lake to grow.

Here in Arkansas we take trees for granted and ignore their tremendous benefits. If we will all plant a tree, we will see a difference. An infrared aerial survey over almost any town in the country has an urban hot spot of increased heat that emits from mostly bare city centers. Studies have shown as much as a 25 percent decrease in utility bills can occur when an urban area plants a canopy of leafy trees that shelter the sidewalks and streets.

Plus there is a bonus in tree planting that isn't only in the ambience, but in the ability to attract customers to shopping areas.

That's the Christmas present I would like to see us give our state, one that we can easily afford and do. If a number of individuals around the state join in, the program will be hugely successful.

What if everyone in Arkansas committed to plant one tree a year? Or if only a third of us committed to plant one tree a year? That would be over 1 million new trees in our state annually. Let's make that commitment.

Our El Dorado Mason family is committed to planting 20 trees. Do I have other commitments? If your city, or you as an individual, will commit to plant trees this year, let me know. Email me your number of tree planting commitments, and I'll post the total numbers in future columns. Give Arkansas a gift this year. Plant a tree!

Richard Mason is a registered professional geologist, downtown developer, former chairman of the Department of Environmental Quality Board of Commissioners, past president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and syndicated columnist. Email [email protected].

Editorial on 12/17/2017

Upcoming Events