The 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service is fast approaching and provides the national parks community with an opportunity to draw attention to the needs and opportunities of the park system and inspire the American public to become engaged on behalf of our nearly 400 national park units and park programs ranging from Yosemite National Park to the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program.
National Parks
The 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service is fast approaching and provides the national parks community with an opportunity to draw attention to the needs and opportunities of the park system and inspire the American public to become engaged on behalf of our nearly 400 national park units and park programs ranging from Yosemite National Park to the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program.
Wolves in Wisconsin
Gray wolf factsheet
- Legal status in U.S.: Federally delisted since January 27, 2012. Currently a "Protected Wild Animal" in Wisconsin.
- 2011 Numbers in Wisconsin: ~800
- Length: 5.0-5.5 feet long (including 15-19 inch tail)
- Height: 2.5 feet high
- Weight: 50-100 pounds/average for adult males is 75 pounds, average for adult females is 60 pounds.
Description
Gray wolves, also referred to as timber wolves, are the largest wild members of the dog family. Males are usually bigger than females. Wolves have many color variations but tend to be buff-colored tans grizzled with gray and black (although they can also be black or white). In winter, their fur becomes darker on the neck, shoulders and rump. Their ears are rounded and relatively short, and the muzzle is large and blocky. Wolves generally hold their tail straight out from the body or down. The tail is black tipped and longer than 18 inches.
Wolves can be distinguished by tracks and various physical features. A wolf, along other wild canids, usually places its hind foot in the track left by the front foot, whereas a dog's front and hind foot tracks usually do not overlap each other. See the wolf identification page for more details.
Thumbnails link to larger images.






Habits
A wolf pack's territory may cover 20-120 square miles, about one tenth the size of an average Wisconsin county. Thus, wolves require a lot of space in which to live, a fact that often invites conflict with humans.
While neighboring wolf packs might share a common border, their territories seldom overlap by more than a mile. A wolf that trespasses in another pack's territory risks being killed by that pack. It knows where its territory ends and another begins by smelling scent messages - urine and feces - left by other wolves. In addition, wolves announce their territory by howling. Howling also helps identify and reunite individuals that are scattered over their large territory.
How does a non-breeding wolf attain dominant, or breeding status? It can stay with its natal pack, bide its time and work its way up the dominance hierarchy. Or it can disperse, leaving the pack to find a mate and a vacant area in which to start its own pack. Both strategies involve risk. A bider may be out-competed by another wolf and never achieve dominance. Dispersers usually leave the pack in autumn or winter, during hunting and trapping season.
Dispersers must be alert to entering other wolf packs' territories, and they must keep a constant vigil to avoid encounters with people, their major enemy. Dispersers have been known to travel great distances in a short time. One radio-collared Wisconsin wolf traveled 23 miles in one day. In ten months, one Minnesota wolf traveled 550 miles to Saskatchewan, Canada. A female wolf pup trapped in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, died from a vehicle collision near Johnson Creek in Jefferson County, Wisconsin in March 2001, about 300 miles from her home territory.
Nobody knows why some wolves disperse and others don't. Even siblings behave differently, as in the case of Carol and Big Al, radio-collared yearling sisters in one Wisconsin pack. Carol left the pack one December, returned in February, then dispersed 40 miles away. Big Al remained with the pack and probably became the pack's dominant female when her mother was illegally shot.
In another case, two siblings dispersed from their pack, but did so at different times and in different directions. One left in September and moved 45 miles east and the other went 85 miles west in November.
Food
Timber wolves are carnivores feeding on other animals. A study in the early 1980s showed that the diet of Wisconsin wolves was comprised of 55 percent white-tailed deer, 16 percent beavers, 10 percent snowshoe hares and 19 percent mice, squirrels, muskrats and other small mammals. Deer comprise over 80 percent of the diet much of the year, but beaver become important in spring and fall. Beavers spend a lot of time on shore in the fall and spring, cutting trees for their food supply. Since beavers are easy to catch on land, wolves eat more of them in the fall and spring than during the rest of the year. In the winter, when beavers are in their lodges or moving safely beneath the ice, wolves rely on deer and hares. Wolves' summer diet is more diverse, including a greater variety of small mammals.
Breeding biology
Wolves are sexually mature when two years old, but seldom breed until they are older. In each pack, the dominant male and female are usually the only ones to breed. They prevent subordinate adults from mating by physically harassing them. Thus, a pack generally produces only one litter each year, averaging five to six pups.
In Wisconsin, wolves breed in late winter (late January and February). The female delivers the pups two months later in the back chamber of a den that she digs. The den's entrance tunnel is 6-12 feet long and 15-25 inches in diameter. Sometimes the female selects a hollow log, cave or abandoned beaver lodge instead of making a den.
At birth, wolf pups are deaf and blind, have dark fuzzy fur and weigh about 1 pound. They grow rapidly during the first three months, gaining about 3 pounds each week. Pups begin to see when two weeks old and can hear after three weeks. At this time, they become very active and playful.
When about six weeks old, the pups are weaned and the adults begin to bring them meat. Adults eat the meat at a kill site often miles away from the pups, then return and regurgitate the food for the pups to eat. The hungry pups jump and nip at the adults' muzzles to stimulate regurgitation.
The pack abandons the den when the pups are six to eight weeks old. The female carries the pups in her mouth to the first of a series of rendezvous sites or nursery areas. These sites are the focus of the pack's social activities for the summer months and are usually near water.
By August, the pups wander up to two to three miles from the rendezvous sites and use them less often. The pack abandons the sites in September or October and the pups, now almost full-grown, follow the adults.
Photos of wolf pups at a den site
Thumbnails link to larger images.
Distribution
Before Europeans settled North America, gray wolves inhabited areas from the southern swamps to the northern tundra, from coast to coast. They existed wherever there was an adequate food supply. However, people overharvested wolf prey species (e.g., elk, bison and deer), transformed wolf habitat into farms and towns and persistently killed wolves. As the continent was settled, wolves declined in numbers and became more restricted in range. Today, the majority of wolves in North America live in remote regions of Canada and Alaska. In the lower 48 states, wolves exist in forests and mountainous regions in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, and possibly in Oregon, Utah and South Dakota.
Map showing wolf distribution
History in Wisconsin
Before Wisconsin was settled in the 1830s, wolves lived throughout the state. Nobody knows how many wolves there were, but best estimates would be 3,000-5,000 animals. Explorers, trappers and settlers transformed Wisconsin's native habitat into farmland, hunted elk and bison to extirpation, and reduced deer populations. As their prey species declined, wolves began to feed on easy-to-capture livestock. As might be expected, this was unpopular among farmers. In response to pressure from farmers, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a state bounty in 1865, offering $5 for every wolf killed. By 1900, no timber wolves existed in the southern two-thirds of the state.
At that time, sport hunting of deer was becoming an economic boost to Wisconsin. To help preserve the dwindling deer population for this purpose, the state supported the elimination of predators like wolves. The wolf bounty was increased to $20 for adults and $10 for pups. The state bounty on wolves persisted until 1957. By the time bounties were lifted, millions of taxpayers' dollars had been spent to kill Wisconsin's wolves, and few wolves were left. By 1960, wolves were declared extirpated from Wisconsin. Ironically, studies have shown that wolves have minimal negative impact on deer populations, since they feed primarily on weak, sick, or disabled individuals.
The story was similar throughout the United States. By 1960, few wolves remained in the lower 48 states (only 350-500 in Minnesota and about 20 on Isle Royale in Michigan). In 1974, however, the value of timber wolves was recognized on the federal level and they were given protection under the Endangered Species Act [exit DNR]. With protection, the Minnesota wolf population in-creased and several individuals dispersed into northern Wisconsin in the mid-1970s. In 1975, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources declared timber wolves endangered.
Intense monitoring of wolves in Wisconsin by the DNR began in 1979. Attempts were made to capture, attach radio collars and radio-track wolves from most packs in the state. Additional surveys were done by snow-tracking wolf packs in the winter and by howl surveys in the summer. In 1980, 25 wolves in 5 packs occurred in the state, but dropped to 14 in 1985 when parvovirus reduced pup survival and killed adults. Wisconsin DNR completed a wolf recovery plan in 1989. The recovery plan set a state goal for reclassifying wolves as threatened once the population remained at or above 80 for three years. Recovery efforts were based on education, legal protection, habitat protection, and providing compensation for problem wolves.
In the 1990s the wolf population grew rapidly, despite an outbreak of mange between 1992 -1995. The DNR completed a new management plan in 1999. This management plan set a delisting goal of 250 wolves in late winter outside of Indian reservations, and a management goal of 350 wolves outside of Indian reservations. In 1999, wolves were reclassified to state threatened status with 205 wolves in the state. In 2004 wolves were removed from the state threatened species list and were reclassified as a protected wild animal with 373 wolves in the state.
Current status (as of April 2012)
The wolf is a "Protected Wild Animal" in Wisconsin. After five years of delisting attempts and subsequent court challenges, a new federal delisting process began on May 5, 2011 and wolves were officially delisted on January 27, 2012. The count in winter 2011 was about 782-824 wolves with 202-203 packs, 19-plus loners, and 31 wolves on Indian reservations in the state.
Misconceptions and controversies
Wolves are the "bad guys" of fable, myth and folklore. The "big bad wolf" fears portrayed in "Little Red Riding Hood," "Peter and the Wolf" and other tales have their roots in the experiences and stories of medieval Europe. Wolves were portrayed as vile, demented, immoral beasts. These powerful negative attitudes and misconceptions about wolves have persisted through time, perpetuated by stories, films and word-of-mouth, even when few Americans will ever have the opportunity to encounter a wolf.
Wolves are controversial because they are large predators. Farmers are concerned about wolves preying on their livestock. In northern Wisconsin, about 50-60 cases of wolf depredation occur per year, about half are on livestock and half on dogs. As the population continues to increase, slight increases in depredation are likely to occur. In Minnesota, with about 3,000 wolves, there are usually 60 to 100 cases per year.
A few hunters continue to illegally kill wolves, believing that such actions will help the deer herd. It is important to place in perspective the impact of wolves preying on deer. Each wolf kills about 20 deer per year. Multiply this by the number of wolves found in Wisconsin in recent years (800), and approximately 16,000 deer may be consumed by wolves annually. This compares to about 27,000 deer hit by cars each year, and about 340,000 deer shot annually by hunters statewide. Within the northern and central forests where most wolves live, wolves kill similar numbers of deer as are killed by vehicles (about 8,000), and about 1/10 of those killed by hunters (8,000 in 2010). Wolves are a factor in the deer herd, but only one of many factors that affects the total number of deer on the landscape.
Research and management
The Wisconsin DNR has been studying wolves since 1979 by live capturing, attaching radio collars and monitoring movements. Much has been learned about wolf ecology in northern Wisconsin. In 1992, the department began a research project to determine the impact of highway development in northwest Wisconsin on wolves. A Geographic Information System, (computer mapping system) was used to determine that northern Wisconsin has about 6,000 square miles of habitat that could support 300-500 wolves. Recent studies suggest the state can perhaps support 700 to 1,000 wolves (in late winter), but this level may not be socially tolerated and recent federal delisting of wolves will allow the department to manage the wolf population toward sustainable but acceptable population levels.
The DNR recognizes wolves as native wildlife species that are of value to natural ecosystems and benefit biological diversity of Wisconsin. The department approved a Wolf Recovery Plan in 1989. The plan's goal of 80 wolves was first achieved in 1995 mainly through protection and public education programs, and did not require any active reintroductions into the state. In 1999, wolves were reclassified to threatened in Wisconsin, and a new wolf management plan was approved that set a state delisting goal at 250 and management goal at 350 wolves in late winter outside of Indian reservations. The wolf management goal represents a threshold level that allows the Department to use a full range of lethal controls, including public harvest, to manage the wolf population. Wolves were state delisted in 2004 and federally in 2012, returning management back to the state and Indian tribes. Landowners will be able to control some problem wolves on their land and government trappers will remove problem wolves from depredation sites.
Outdoors Has Its Benefit
Mom Was Right: Go Outside
- May 25, 2012, 11:26 a.m. ET
- By JONAH LEHRER
Humans are quickly becoming an indoor species.
In part, this is a byproduct of urbanization, as most people now live in big cities. Our increasing reliance on technology is also driving the trend, with a recent study concluding that American children between the ages of 8 and 18 currently spend more than four hours a day interacting with technology.
As a result, there's no longer time for nature: From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of young children regularly engaging in outdoor recreation fell by roughly 15 percentage points.
This shift is occurring even as scientists outline the mental benefits of spending time in natural settings. According to the latest research, untamed landscapes have a restorative effect, calming our frazzled nerves and refreshing the tired cortex. After a brief exposure to the outdoors, people are more creative, happier and better able to focus. If there were a pill that delivered these same results, we'd all be popping it.
Consider a forthcoming paper by psychologist Ruth Ann Atchley and her colleagues at the University of Kansas. To collect their data, the researchers partnered with the nonprofit Outward Bound, which takes people on extended expeditions into nature. To measure the mental benefits of hiking in the middle of nowhere, Dr. Atchley gave 60 backpackers a standard test of creativity before they hit the trail. She gave the same test to a different group of hikers four days into their journey.
The results were surprising: The hikers in the midst of nature showed a nearly 50% increase in performance on the test of creativity, and the effect held across all age groups.
"There's a growing advantage over time to being in nature," says Dr. Atchley. "We think that it peaks after about three days of really getting away, turning off the cellphone. It's when you have an extended period of time surrounded by that softly fascinating environment that you start seeing all kinds of positive effects in how your mind works."
This latest study builds on a growing body of evidence demonstrating the cognitive benefits of nature. Although many of us find the outdoors alienating and uncomfortable—the bugs, the bigger critters, the lack of climate control—the brain reacts to natural settings by, essentially, sighing in relief.
In 2009, a team of psychologists led by Marc Berman at the University of Michigan outfitted undergraduates with GPS receivers. Some of the students took a stroll in an arboretum, while others walked around the busy streets of downtown Ann Arbor.
The subjects were then run through a battery of psychological tests. People who had walked through the natural setting were in a better mood and scored significantly higher on tests of attention and short-term memory, which involved repeating a series of numbers backward. In fact, just glancing at a photograph of nature led to measurable improvements, at least when compared with pictures of cities.
This also helps to explain an effect on children with attention-deficit disorder. Several studies show that, when surrounded by trees and animals, these children are less likely to have behavioral problems and are better able to focus on a particular task.
Scientists have found that even a relatively paltry patch of nature can confer cognitive benefits. In the late 1990s, Frances Kuo, director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, began interviewing female residents in the Robert Taylor Homes, a massive housing project on the South Side of Chicago.
Dr. Kuo and her colleagues compared women who were randomly assigned to various apartments. Some had a view of nothing but concrete sprawl, the blacktop of parking lots and basketball courts. Others looked out on grassy courtyards filled with trees and flower beds. Dr. Kuo then measured the two groups on a variety of tasks, from basic tests of attention to surveys that looked at how the women were handling major life challenges. She found that living in an apartment with a view of greenery led to significant improvements in every category.
Cities are here to stay; so are smartphones. What this research suggests, however, is that we need to make time to escape from everyone else, to explore those parts of the world that weren't designed for us. It's when we are lost in the wild that the mind is finally at home.
Outdoors Has Its Benefit
Mom Was Right: Go Outside
- May 25, 2012, 11:26 a.m. ET
- By JONAH LEHRER
Humans are quickly becoming an indoor species.
In part, this is a byproduct of urbanization, as most people now live in big cities. Our increasing reliance on technology is also driving the trend, with a recent study concluding that American children between the ages of 8 and 18 currently spend more than four hours a day interacting with technology.
As a result, there's no longer time for nature: From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of young children regularly engaging in outdoor recreation fell by roughly 15 percentage points.
This shift is occurring even as scientists outline the mental benefits of spending time in natural settings. According to the latest research, untamed landscapes have a restorative effect, calming our frazzled nerves and refreshing the tired cortex. After a brief exposure to the outdoors, people are more creative, happier and better able to focus. If there were a pill that delivered these same results, we'd all be popping it.
Consider a forthcoming paper by psychologist Ruth Ann Atchley and her colleagues at the University of Kansas. To collect their data, the researchers partnered with the nonprofit Outward Bound, which takes people on extended expeditions into nature. To measure the mental benefits of hiking in the middle of nowhere, Dr. Atchley gave 60 backpackers a standard test of creativity before they hit the trail. She gave the same test to a different group of hikers four days into their journey.
The results were surprising: The hikers in the midst of nature showed a nearly 50% increase in performance on the test of creativity, and the effect held across all age groups.
"There's a growing advantage over time to being in nature," says Dr. Atchley. "We think that it peaks after about three days of really getting away, turning off the cellphone. It's when you have an extended period of time surrounded by that softly fascinating environment that you start seeing all kinds of positive effects in how your mind works."
This latest study builds on a growing body of evidence demonstrating the cognitive benefits of nature. Although many of us find the outdoors alienating and uncomfortable—the bugs, the bigger critters, the lack of climate control—the brain reacts to natural settings by, essentially, sighing in relief.
In 2009, a team of psychologists led by Marc Berman at the University of Michigan outfitted undergraduates with GPS receivers. Some of the students took a stroll in an arboretum, while others walked around the busy streets of downtown Ann Arbor.
The subjects were then run through a battery of psychological tests. People who had walked through the natural setting were in a better mood and scored significantly higher on tests of attention and short-term memory, which involved repeating a series of numbers backward. In fact, just glancing at a photograph of nature led to measurable improvements, at least when compared with pictures of cities.
This also helps to explain an effect on children with attention-deficit disorder. Several studies show that, when surrounded by trees and animals, these children are less likely to have behavioral problems and are better able to focus on a particular task.
Scientists have found that even a relatively paltry patch of nature can confer cognitive benefits. In the late 1990s, Frances Kuo, director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, began interviewing female residents in the Robert Taylor Homes, a massive housing project on the South Side of Chicago.
Dr. Kuo and her colleagues compared women who were randomly assigned to various apartments. Some had a view of nothing but concrete sprawl, the blacktop of parking lots and basketball courts. Others looked out on grassy courtyards filled with trees and flower beds. Dr. Kuo then measured the two groups on a variety of tasks, from basic tests of attention to surveys that looked at how the women were handling major life challenges. She found that living in an apartment with a view of greenery led to significant improvements in every category.
Cities are here to stay; so are smartphones. What this research suggests, however, is that we need to make time to escape from everyone else, to explore those parts of the world that weren't designed for us. It's when we are lost in the wild that the mind is finally at home.
Outdoors Has Its Benefit
Mom Was Right: Go Outside
- May 25, 2012, 11:26 a.m. ET
- By JONAH LEHRER
Humans are quickly becoming an indoor species.
In part, this is a byproduct of urbanization, as most people now live in big cities. Our increasing reliance on technology is also driving the trend, with a recent study concluding that American children between the ages of 8 and 18 currently spend more than four hours a day interacting with technology.
As a result, there's no longer time for nature: From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of young children regularly engaging in outdoor recreation fell by roughly 15 percentage points.
This shift is occurring even as scientists outline the mental benefits of spending time in natural settings. According to the latest research, untamed landscapes have a restorative effect, calming our frazzled nerves and refreshing the tired cortex. After a brief exposure to the outdoors, people are more creative, happier and better able to focus. If there were a pill that delivered these same results, we'd all be popping it.
Consider a forthcoming paper by psychologist Ruth Ann Atchley and her colleagues at the University of Kansas. To collect their data, the researchers partnered with the nonprofit Outward Bound, which takes people on extended expeditions into nature. To measure the mental benefits of hiking in the middle of nowhere, Dr. Atchley gave 60 backpackers a standard test of creativity before they hit the trail. She gave the same test to a different group of hikers four days into their journey.
The results were surprising: The hikers in the midst of nature showed a nearly 50% increase in performance on the test of creativity, and the effect held across all age groups.
"There's a growing advantage over time to being in nature," says Dr. Atchley. "We think that it peaks after about three days of really getting away, turning off the cellphone. It's when you have an extended period of time surrounded by that softly fascinating environment that you start seeing all kinds of positive effects in how your mind works."
This latest study builds on a growing body of evidence demonstrating the cognitive benefits of nature. Although many of us find the outdoors alienating and uncomfortable—the bugs, the bigger critters, the lack of climate control—the brain reacts to natural settings by, essentially, sighing in relief.
In 2009, a team of psychologists led by Marc Berman at the University of Michigan outfitted undergraduates with GPS receivers. Some of the students took a stroll in an arboretum, while others walked around the busy streets of downtown Ann Arbor.
The subjects were then run through a battery of psychological tests. People who had walked through the natural setting were in a better mood and scored significantly higher on tests of attention and short-term memory, which involved repeating a series of numbers backward. In fact, just glancing at a photograph of nature led to measurable improvements, at least when compared with pictures of cities.
This also helps to explain an effect on children with attention-deficit disorder. Several studies show that, when surrounded by trees and animals, these children are less likely to have behavioral problems and are better able to focus on a particular task.
Scientists have found that even a relatively paltry patch of nature can confer cognitive benefits. In the late 1990s, Frances Kuo, director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, began interviewing female residents in the Robert Taylor Homes, a massive housing project on the South Side of Chicago.
Dr. Kuo and her colleagues compared women who were randomly assigned to various apartments. Some had a view of nothing but concrete sprawl, the blacktop of parking lots and basketball courts. Others looked out on grassy courtyards filled with trees and flower beds. Dr. Kuo then measured the two groups on a variety of tasks, from basic tests of attention to surveys that looked at how the women were handling major life challenges. She found that living in an apartment with a view of greenery led to significant improvements in every category.
Cities are here to stay; so are smartphones. What this research suggests, however, is that we need to make time to escape from everyone else, to explore those parts of the world that weren't designed for us. It's when we are lost in the wild that the mind is finally at home.
Outdoors Has Its Benefit
Mom Was Right: Go Outside
- May 25, 2012, 11:26 a.m. ET
- By JONAH LEHRER
Humans are quickly becoming an indoor species.
In part, this is a byproduct of urbanization, as most people now live in big cities. Our increasing reliance on technology is also driving the trend, with a recent study concluding that American children between the ages of 8 and 18 currently spend more than four hours a day interacting with technology.
As a result, there's no longer time for nature: From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of young children regularly engaging in outdoor recreation fell by roughly 15 percentage points.
This shift is occurring even as scientists outline the mental benefits of spending time in natural settings. According to the latest research, untamed landscapes have a restorative effect, calming our frazzled nerves and refreshing the tired cortex. After a brief exposure to the outdoors, people are more creative, happier and better able to focus. If there were a pill that delivered these same results, we'd all be popping it.
Consider a forthcoming paper by psychologist Ruth Ann Atchley and her colleagues at the University of Kansas. To collect their data, the researchers partnered with the nonprofit Outward Bound, which takes people on extended expeditions into nature. To measure the mental benefits of hiking in the middle of nowhere, Dr. Atchley gave 60 backpackers a standard test of creativity before they hit the trail. She gave the same test to a different group of hikers four days into their journey.
The results were surprising: The hikers in the midst of nature showed a nearly 50% increase in performance on the test of creativity, and the effect held across all age groups.
"There's a growing advantage over time to being in nature," says Dr. Atchley. "We think that it peaks after about three days of really getting away, turning off the cellphone. It's when you have an extended period of time surrounded by that softly fascinating environment that you start seeing all kinds of positive effects in how your mind works."
This latest study builds on a growing body of evidence demonstrating the cognitive benefits of nature. Although many of us find the outdoors alienating and uncomfortable—the bugs, the bigger critters, the lack of climate control—the brain reacts to natural settings by, essentially, sighing in relief.
In 2009, a team of psychologists led by Marc Berman at the University of Michigan outfitted undergraduates with GPS receivers. Some of the students took a stroll in an arboretum, while others walked around the busy streets of downtown Ann Arbor.
The subjects were then run through a battery of psychological tests. People who had walked through the natural setting were in a better mood and scored significantly higher on tests of attention and short-term memory, which involved repeating a series of numbers backward. In fact, just glancing at a photograph of nature led to measurable improvements, at least when compared with pictures of cities.
This also helps to explain an effect on children with attention-deficit disorder. Several studies show that, when surrounded by trees and animals, these children are less likely to have behavioral problems and are better able to focus on a particular task.
Scientists have found that even a relatively paltry patch of nature can confer cognitive benefits. In the late 1990s, Frances Kuo, director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, began interviewing female residents in the Robert Taylor Homes, a massive housing project on the South Side of Chicago.
Dr. Kuo and her colleagues compared women who were randomly assigned to various apartments. Some had a view of nothing but concrete sprawl, the blacktop of parking lots and basketball courts. Others looked out on grassy courtyards filled with trees and flower beds. Dr. Kuo then measured the two groups on a variety of tasks, from basic tests of attention to surveys that looked at how the women were handling major life challenges. She found that living in an apartment with a view of greenery led to significant improvements in every category.
Cities are here to stay; so are smartphones. What this research suggests, however, is that we need to make time to escape from everyone else, to explore those parts of the world that weren't designed for us. It's when we are lost in the wild that the mind is finally at home.
Summer Camp A Heros Journey
Oh sure, I remember the days when I was a camper but over the last 40 plus years
I know my mind has altered the memories. Here in the enclosed info is the story line
of an overnight camper and how his story is much like that of a Hero form a book.
New Campers: A Hero’s Journey
I was first introduced to the story pattern of the Hero’s Journey when I took a screenwriting course in college and read The Writer’s Journeywhich uses the Hero’s Journey concept to help storytellers create their story. The Hero’s Journey describes the stages the main character (the hero or heroine) goes through in nearly every story in existence from plays to books to film.

The Hero’s Journey can also relate to our own personal lives and the lives of those around us. In fact, using the Hero’s Journey a person can find inspiration to create their own extraordinary life story.
But this is not a post about you or me. It’s not about creating or bringing meaning to our own story. Instead it’s about the journey that first time campers take, how they go through the stages of a hero’s journey. The next post I write will be about how we can enhance that journey and help our young heroes and heroins to grow and become better people through this experience we call summer camp.

The Stages
Stage 1 – Ordinary World
Every Hero starts off in the mundane world. They go to school, participate in activities, etc. But many times they have this feeling that something is missing, that there is more out there. Most kids have this sense of adventure and exploration that isn’t met at school or in the city. With dangers all around, parents don’t allow their children to stay out of the house and explore their surroundings like they used to years ago. That sense of adventure stays inside them, laying dormant.
Stage 2 – The Call to Adventure

In every Hero’s journey there is a moment when they get the Call to Adventure. For future campers they may hear about camp from an enthusiastic friend or from their parent who has sent away for a brochure. Some kids may have found information online. No matter how they found out about camp they have been Called to this new Adventure that awaits them and all the exciting opportunities it brings.
Stage 3 – Refusal of the Call

Now, our Hero, our future camper, has heard the Call to Adventure but is nervous about it. There are so many unknowns; will I make friends, will I have to shower with others, I’ll miss home, what if I don’t like it, will there be spiders in the cabin, will the other kids make fun of my snoring, will I like the food, are there bears, etc. This new adventure can be exciting but it can also be dangerous (and possibly life-threatning). It wouldn’t be a real adventure otherwise. Our Hero is refusing the Call to Adventure.
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Creative License
Here is where I change the pattern of the Hero’s Journey a bit. In the classic version the Hero meets a Mentor that guides him or her to heed the Call to Adventure. So step 4 would be Meeting with the Mentor. Step 5 is Crossing the Threshhold where our Hero commits to the Adventure. In my structure those two steps are reversed as the Mentor in this typical scenario is the camp counselor that helps our Heros and Heroines through the tests of the Journey.
Now back to our story…
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Stage 4 – Crossing the Threshold
Our Hero is now encouraged to answer the Call by parents, other family members, friends and even camp videos. Through this encouragement many children finally decide to commit to the Journey. They are going to camp. This commitment leads to all kinds of feelings and emotions. The camp fee has been paid and our Hero is gathering his/her gear for this Adventure (sleeping bag, toiletries, camera, clothes, etc.) and the feeling of excitement mixes with dread and anxiety. But our Hero must have courage (taking action in the face of fear). They must go forward. And our Hero does. They take the drive to camp and cross the Threshold onto the camp property where there are new sounds and sights. This is an unfamiliar place that is scary. Our Hero is committed though.
Stage 5 – Meeting with the Mentor
Now our Hero meets their Mentor, the camp counselor. The Mentor is confident, wise and protective. The Mentor knows that our Hero must face challenges during this Adventure but is there to help guide them through. The Mentor understands that our Hero will have to stretch him or herself, that they will grow as people through this experience.
While the Mentor may want to shield our Hero from adversity by letting them sit out of the challenges a camper faces (community living, camp competitions, high ropes course, swimming, performing, etc.) they also are wise enough to know that these challenges, these trials, are improtant to the Hero’s Journey.
Stage 6 – Tests, Allies and Enemies
Our Hero will face tests during this Journey. Our Hero may not know it but he/she is on a Journey for Treasure. That Treasure is completion of the Journey. It’s like a treasure chest filled with all the experiences, personal growth, relationships and memories that the Journey brings. But no treasure is worth having if there aren’t obstacles, challenges, tests, adversity.
The good news is that our Hero will not only have a Mentor but also Allies that will help our Hero get through it all. If our Hero goes to the pool for swim instruction their Ally will be the swim instructor. On the archery range it’s the archery instructor. Our Hero also has a cabin or group full of Allies (and possibly a few Enemies, which is also part of the Journey). These peer Allies will be important when it comes to camp competitions, ropes courses and team building, performing skits and evening activities such as camp dances.
Stage 7 – Approach to the Innermost Cave
On the first day of camp our Hero has met their Mentor and Allies, heard about the upcoming tests and challenges and have possibly met some Enemies (bullies, inner fear, bad food). At some point during the Journey our Hero will venture into the Innermost Cave, the darkest place they can imagine, the ultimate test. For many first time campers at resident (sleep-away) camp that Cave is night time where they will face their worst enemy - homesickness. As night approaches our Hero feels a knot growing in the pit of their stomach. They begin to think about home and mom and the safety of their rooms. Even their little brother, who they fight with constantly, is being missed right now. If our Hero has not created Allies or has created more Enemies than Allies at this point then homesickness will be strong.
For other campers the Innermost Cave can be the fear of heights on a ropes course, the fear of drowning in the pool, the fear of body image when in the community shower, the fear of not making friends, the fear of being made fun of or losing a camp challenge.
Stage 8 – The Ordeal
Our Hero must now deal with their fear. Hopefully the Mentor has recognized that our Hero is in the Cave facing his or her ultimate camp fear and is able to give our Hero advice on how to deal with it. Allies can also be a big part of getting through the Cave. For example, if our Hero has a fear of heights then his/her Allies will encourage our Hero to persevere as our Mentor gives clear, calm instructions. If our Hero does not face his/her demons then the Treasure may be lost to them. If homesickness leads to the parents taking our Hero home, if our Hero never leaves the gound at the high ropes course, if fear keeps our Hero from entering the water, then the memory of the Journey will be tainted, the sense of accomplishment will be lost, our Hero will not have stretched himself/herself and will have the hole in their soul to prove it. They MUST accomplish the task.
Stage 9 – Reward
Our Hero has conquered the fear, climbed the mountain, seized the sword, vanquished the dragon. They have emerged from their Ordeal. This was their initiation. They should now be recognized as special, a part of the select few that have conquered their fear. Now is the time for celebration. This may be an ending campfire, a group celebration of cheers and whoops, a token or trophy of their accomplishment or even a proud look from a mentor.
Stage 10 – The Road Back
Our Hero has done it – gone through all the experiences camp has to offer (and then some). The Treasure has been earned. Camp is over. Now it is time for our Hero to leave this Special World and return to the Ordinary World. But our Hero is not the same person they used to be. The Journey has strengthened them. Camp is no longer an unknown and scary place. It is a place of wonder filled with friends and Allies – a place where our Hero has learned that he or she can be courageous and do things they didn’t think possible. It is a place that taught them they could be without electronics, a place they found independence, a place they stretched and grew.
Stage 11 – Resurrection
But the story does not end there. Now that our Hero is home they must cope with a new Ordeal – the Oridanary World. The excitement fades as the Special World is out of site. Our Hero wants to return to the place of wonder, but they cannot. They have left a place of acceptance, encouragement, love, peace, challenge and accomplishment only to return to a harsh reality. This seperation anxiety is tough for many Heroes. Their new friends and Allies are missed, as is the Mentor who guided them through so much.
Camp is a place where kids can be someone else, someone better. They can start fresh. When they come home they return to the people that know them and their weaknesses. These people (family and hometown friends) weren’t there to see the strength our Hero used and the accomplishments our Hero made.
This is a time of rebirth, where our Hero sheds the personality of camp and builds a new one suitable for the Ordinary World, taking the lessons they learned on their Journey and fusing that with the best parts of their old selves – like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
Stage 12 – Return with The Elixer
Now that our Hero has returned to the Ordinary Life and has ressurected into their new selves they bring back with them the Elixer – stories, pictures, momentos of their Journey, their Adventure, that they can share with others. This may inspire friends to go on journeys of their own. This may be the Call of Adventure for others that hear our Hero’s tales. The Elixer is the final part of our Hero’s Journey. It is the proof that our Hero was there, that he or she vanquished the dragon showing all others what is possible and that it is a Journey worth taking.
Once everyone back home has heard the tales our Hero has brought back – the time is right to plan the next journey.
this article is from http://summercampprogramdirector.com/new-campers-a-heros-journey/
Summer Camp A Heros Journey
Oh sure, I remember the days when I was a camper but over the last 40 plus years
I know my mind has altered the memories. Here in the enclosed info is the story line
of an overnight camper and how his story is much like that of a Hero form a book.
New Campers: A Hero’s Journey
I was first introduced to the story pattern of the Hero’s Journey when I took a screenwriting course in college and read The Writer’s Journeywhich uses the Hero’s Journey concept to help storytellers create their story. The Hero’s Journey describes the stages the main character (the hero or heroine) goes through in nearly every story in existence from plays to books to film.

The Hero’s Journey can also relate to our own personal lives and the lives of those around us. In fact, using the Hero’s Journey a person can find inspiration to create their own extraordinary life story.
But this is not a post about you or me. It’s not about creating or bringing meaning to our own story. Instead it’s about the journey that first time campers take, how they go through the stages of a hero’s journey. The next post I write will be about how we can enhance that journey and help our young heroes and heroins to grow and become better people through this experience we call summer camp.

The Stages
Stage 1 – Ordinary World
Every Hero starts off in the mundane world. They go to school, participate in activities, etc. But many times they have this feeling that something is missing, that there is more out there. Most kids have this sense of adventure and exploration that isn’t met at school or in the city. With dangers all around, parents don’t allow their children to stay out of the house and explore their surroundings like they used to years ago. That sense of adventure stays inside them, laying dormant.
Stage 2 – The Call to Adventure

In every Hero’s journey there is a moment when they get the Call to Adventure. For future campers they may hear about camp from an enthusiastic friend or from their parent who has sent away for a brochure. Some kids may have found information online. No matter how they found out about camp they have been Called to this new Adventure that awaits them and all the exciting opportunities it brings.
Stage 3 – Refusal of the Call

Now, our Hero, our future camper, has heard the Call to Adventure but is nervous about it. There are so many unknowns; will I make friends, will I have to shower with others, I’ll miss home, what if I don’t like it, will there be spiders in the cabin, will the other kids make fun of my snoring, will I like the food, are there bears, etc. This new adventure can be exciting but it can also be dangerous (and possibly life-threatning). It wouldn’t be a real adventure otherwise. Our Hero is refusing the Call to Adventure.
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Creative License
Here is where I change the pattern of the Hero’s Journey a bit. In the classic version the Hero meets a Mentor that guides him or her to heed the Call to Adventure. So step 4 would be Meeting with the Mentor. Step 5 is Crossing the Threshhold where our Hero commits to the Adventure. In my structure those two steps are reversed as the Mentor in this typical scenario is the camp counselor that helps our Heros and Heroines through the tests of the Journey.
Now back to our story…
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Stage 4 – Crossing the Threshold
Our Hero is now encouraged to answer the Call by parents, other family members, friends and even camp videos. Through this encouragement many children finally decide to commit to the Journey. They are going to camp. This commitment leads to all kinds of feelings and emotions. The camp fee has been paid and our Hero is gathering his/her gear for this Adventure (sleeping bag, toiletries, camera, clothes, etc.) and the feeling of excitement mixes with dread and anxiety. But our Hero must have courage (taking action in the face of fear). They must go forward. And our Hero does. They take the drive to camp and cross the Threshold onto the camp property where there are new sounds and sights. This is an unfamiliar place that is scary. Our Hero is committed though.
Stage 5 – Meeting with the Mentor
Now our Hero meets their Mentor, the camp counselor. The Mentor is confident, wise and protective. The Mentor knows that our Hero must face challenges during this Adventure but is there to help guide them through. The Mentor understands that our Hero will have to stretch him or herself, that they will grow as people through this experience.
While the Mentor may want to shield our Hero from adversity by letting them sit out of the challenges a camper faces (community living, camp competitions, high ropes course, swimming, performing, etc.) they also are wise enough to know that these challenges, these trials, are improtant to the Hero’s Journey.
Stage 6 – Tests, Allies and Enemies
Our Hero will face tests during this Journey. Our Hero may not know it but he/she is on a Journey for Treasure. That Treasure is completion of the Journey. It’s like a treasure chest filled with all the experiences, personal growth, relationships and memories that the Journey brings. But no treasure is worth having if there aren’t obstacles, challenges, tests, adversity.
The good news is that our Hero will not only have a Mentor but also Allies that will help our Hero get through it all. If our Hero goes to the pool for swim instruction their Ally will be the swim instructor. On the archery range it’s the archery instructor. Our Hero also has a cabin or group full of Allies (and possibly a few Enemies, which is also part of the Journey). These peer Allies will be important when it comes to camp competitions, ropes courses and team building, performing skits and evening activities such as camp dances.
Stage 7 – Approach to the Innermost Cave
On the first day of camp our Hero has met their Mentor and Allies, heard about the upcoming tests and challenges and have possibly met some Enemies (bullies, inner fear, bad food). At some point during the Journey our Hero will venture into the Innermost Cave, the darkest place they can imagine, the ultimate test. For many first time campers at resident (sleep-away) camp that Cave is night time where they will face their worst enemy - homesickness. As night approaches our Hero feels a knot growing in the pit of their stomach. They begin to think about home and mom and the safety of their rooms. Even their little brother, who they fight with constantly, is being missed right now. If our Hero has not created Allies or has created more Enemies than Allies at this point then homesickness will be strong.
For other campers the Innermost Cave can be the fear of heights on a ropes course, the fear of drowning in the pool, the fear of body image when in the community shower, the fear of not making friends, the fear of being made fun of or losing a camp challenge.
Stage 8 – The Ordeal
Our Hero must now deal with their fear. Hopefully the Mentor has recognized that our Hero is in the Cave facing his or her ultimate camp fear and is able to give our Hero advice on how to deal with it. Allies can also be a big part of getting through the Cave. For example, if our Hero has a fear of heights then his/her Allies will encourage our Hero to persevere as our Mentor gives clear, calm instructions. If our Hero does not face his/her demons then the Treasure may be lost to them. If homesickness leads to the parents taking our Hero home, if our Hero never leaves the gound at the high ropes course, if fear keeps our Hero from entering the water, then the memory of the Journey will be tainted, the sense of accomplishment will be lost, our Hero will not have stretched himself/herself and will have the hole in their soul to prove it. They MUST accomplish the task.
Stage 9 – Reward
Our Hero has conquered the fear, climbed the mountain, seized the sword, vanquished the dragon. They have emerged from their Ordeal. This was their initiation. They should now be recognized as special, a part of the select few that have conquered their fear. Now is the time for celebration. This may be an ending campfire, a group celebration of cheers and whoops, a token or trophy of their accomplishment or even a proud look from a mentor.
Stage 10 – The Road Back
Our Hero has done it – gone through all the experiences camp has to offer (and then some). The Treasure has been earned. Camp is over. Now it is time for our Hero to leave this Special World and return to the Ordinary World. But our Hero is not the same person they used to be. The Journey has strengthened them. Camp is no longer an unknown and scary place. It is a place of wonder filled with friends and Allies – a place where our Hero has learned that he or she can be courageous and do things they didn’t think possible. It is a place that taught them they could be without electronics, a place they found independence, a place they stretched and grew.
Stage 11 – Resurrection
But the story does not end there. Now that our Hero is home they must cope with a new Ordeal – the Oridanary World. The excitement fades as the Special World is out of site. Our Hero wants to return to the place of wonder, but they cannot. They have left a place of acceptance, encouragement, love, peace, challenge and accomplishment only to return to a harsh reality. This seperation anxiety is tough for many Heroes. Their new friends and Allies are missed, as is the Mentor who guided them through so much.
Camp is a place where kids can be someone else, someone better. They can start fresh. When they come home they return to the people that know them and their weaknesses. These people (family and hometown friends) weren’t there to see the strength our Hero used and the accomplishments our Hero made.
This is a time of rebirth, where our Hero sheds the personality of camp and builds a new one suitable for the Ordinary World, taking the lessons they learned on their Journey and fusing that with the best parts of their old selves – like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
Stage 12 – Return with The Elixer
Now that our Hero has returned to the Ordinary Life and has ressurected into their new selves they bring back with them the Elixer – stories, pictures, momentos of their Journey, their Adventure, that they can share with others. This may inspire friends to go on journeys of their own. This may be the Call of Adventure for others that hear our Hero’s tales. The Elixer is the final part of our Hero’s Journey. It is the proof that our Hero was there, that he or she vanquished the dragon showing all others what is possible and that it is a Journey worth taking.
Once everyone back home has heard the tales our Hero has brought back – the time is right to plan the next journey.
this article is from http://summercampprogramdirector.com/new-campers-a-heros-journey/
The Benefits Of A Tree
As we near Earth Day 2012 it is important that
we all realize that the planting of 1 tree can make a difference.
Read more about How trees change our life
The information provided is in reference to urban forests, but these benefits and values also apply to rural forests.
Canopy, or tree canopy, is a term used to describe the leaves and branches of a tree or group of trees. In an urban forest, tree canopy is important to the potential benefits the forest may provide. In general, the more area it covers and the denser the canopy, the more benefits the trees can provide. Although one tree is better than none, 100 are better still. Whether the benefits are from one tree or many trees, they are all still real and most can be quantified in some way. Often, forest benefits are divided into three categories: social, economic, and ecologic. It is difficult to divide the benefits that the urban forest canopy provides into these categories because so many benefits fall into more than one.
Social Benefits
Just as with a rural forest, an urban forest provides many benefits. Numerous studies have been done about the social
and psychological benefits of “green” in urban environments. The findings of the studies make a strong case for the
importance of urban forests. Urban public housing residents who lived in buildings without trees and grass nearby were
asked about how they cope with major life issues. They reported more procrastination and assessed their issues as more
severe than residents with green nearby.
A study done with children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) found that children with ADD were better able to focus
and concentrate after playing in natural, green settings, than in settings where concrete was predominant.
Apartment buildings with high levels of greenery have been shown to have approximately half the number of crimes
than those with little or no greenery. The results proved true for both property crimes and violent crimes. A similar study
found that residents living in areas without nearby nature reported more aggression and violence than those living with
nearby green. In addition to these specific studies, access to nature also provides humans with other social benefits.
Parks and other green spaces provide a space for people to play, walk, jog, birdwatch, or just sit quietly. These activities
are good for our physical health in a society that is increasingly sedentary. It is also good for our mental health by
providing a place to unwind. Trees also reduce noise levels.
Economic Benefits
The economic benefits of urban forests are increasingly being documented. Economics often becomes the language
used when it comes to urban forest management. Budgets of municipalities must cover an array of services, and the
benefits of an urban ecosystem must often be proven to secure funding. In a study that considered the costs and
benefits of municipal forests in five U.S. cities, the researchers found that for every dollar spent on trees, the benefits
returned were worth from $1.37 to $3.09. A little math tells us this is clearly a good investment.
Trees save money through reduced energy costs. Cities create what is referred to as a heat island. The concrete, asphalt,
buildings, and other surfaces absorb and hold heat from the sun. During hot summer days, cities can be five to nine
degrees warmer than surrounding areas. Shading, evapotranspiration, and wind speed reduction provided by trees help
conserve energy in buildings. A study conducted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, showed that trees placed in the proper
location can reduce total heating and cooling costs by eight percent.
Homeowners not only reduce costs of heating and cooling their homes, but increase the value of their property by
planting trees. Research suggests that property value can increase three to seven percent when trees are present. Trees
also make homes and neighborhoods more desirable places to live. One economic benefit that urban trees can provide,
but often don’t, is one based on products. Municipalities and tree services across the country have come up with ways
to use the wood that is cut from an urban forest. Products range from specialty furniture, to musical instruments, to
lumber for park shelters, to artwork. The income from selling products from the wood of trees being removed could be used to defray the cost associated with the removal, making trees an even better investment.
Trees and Climate Change
The information about how trees impact climate change is taken from the National Arbor Day website
http://www.arborday.org/globalwarming/treesHelp.cfm, and the American Forest Foundation website
www.americanforests.org/resources/climatechange/
Deciduous trees, planted on the west, east and south sides, will keep your house cool in the summer and let the sun
warm your home in the winter, reducing energy use.
Just three trees, properly placed around a house, can save up to 30% of energy use.
Trees or shrubs planted to shade air conditioners help cool a building more efficiently, using less electricity. A unit
operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun.
Neighborhoods with well-shaded streets can be up to 6–10° F cooler than neighborhoods without street trees, reducing
the heat-island effect, and reducing energy needs.
Shaded parking lots keep automobiles cooler, reducing emissions from fuel tanks and engines, and helping reduce the
heat-island effect in communities.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary gas causing global climate change. Trees retain the carbon (C) from the
CO2 molecule and release oxygen (O2) into the atmosphere. The retained carbon makes up half the dry weight of a tree.
Forests are the world's second largest carbon reservoirs (oceans are the largest). Unlike oceans, however, we can grow
new forests. One acre of forestland will sequester between 150 - 200 tons of CO2 in its first 40 years.
The Benefits Of A Tree
As we near Earth Day 2012 it is important that
we all realize that the planting of 1 tree can make a difference.
Read more about How trees change our life
The information provided is in reference to urban forests, but these benefits and values also apply to rural forests.
Canopy, or tree canopy, is a term used to describe the leaves and branches of a tree or group of trees. In an urban forest, tree canopy is important to the potential benefits the forest may provide. In general, the more area it covers and the denser the canopy, the more benefits the trees can provide. Although one tree is better than none, 100 are better still. Whether the benefits are from one tree or many trees, they are all still real and most can be quantified in some way. Often, forest benefits are divided into three categories: social, economic, and ecologic. It is difficult to divide the benefits that the urban forest canopy provides into these categories because so many benefits fall into more than one.
Social Benefits
Just as with a rural forest, an urban forest provides many benefits. Numerous studies have been done about the social
and psychological benefits of “green” in urban environments. The findings of the studies make a strong case for the
importance of urban forests. Urban public housing residents who lived in buildings without trees and grass nearby were
asked about how they cope with major life issues. They reported more procrastination and assessed their issues as more
severe than residents with green nearby.
A study done with children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) found that children with ADD were better able to focus
and concentrate after playing in natural, green settings, than in settings where concrete was predominant.
Apartment buildings with high levels of greenery have been shown to have approximately half the number of crimes
than those with little or no greenery. The results proved true for both property crimes and violent crimes. A similar study
found that residents living in areas without nearby nature reported more aggression and violence than those living with
nearby green. In addition to these specific studies, access to nature also provides humans with other social benefits.
Parks and other green spaces provide a space for people to play, walk, jog, birdwatch, or just sit quietly. These activities
are good for our physical health in a society that is increasingly sedentary. It is also good for our mental health by
providing a place to unwind. Trees also reduce noise levels.
Economic Benefits
The economic benefits of urban forests are increasingly being documented. Economics often becomes the language
used when it comes to urban forest management. Budgets of municipalities must cover an array of services, and the
benefits of an urban ecosystem must often be proven to secure funding. In a study that considered the costs and
benefits of municipal forests in five U.S. cities, the researchers found that for every dollar spent on trees, the benefits
returned were worth from $1.37 to $3.09. A little math tells us this is clearly a good investment.
Trees save money through reduced energy costs. Cities create what is referred to as a heat island. The concrete, asphalt,
buildings, and other surfaces absorb and hold heat from the sun. During hot summer days, cities can be five to nine
degrees warmer than surrounding areas. Shading, evapotranspiration, and wind speed reduction provided by trees help
conserve energy in buildings. A study conducted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, showed that trees placed in the proper
location can reduce total heating and cooling costs by eight percent.
Homeowners not only reduce costs of heating and cooling their homes, but increase the value of their property by
planting trees. Research suggests that property value can increase three to seven percent when trees are present. Trees
also make homes and neighborhoods more desirable places to live. One economic benefit that urban trees can provide,
but often don’t, is one based on products. Municipalities and tree services across the country have come up with ways
to use the wood that is cut from an urban forest. Products range from specialty furniture, to musical instruments, to
lumber for park shelters, to artwork. The income from selling products from the wood of trees being removed could be used to defray the cost associated with the removal, making trees an even better investment.
Trees and Climate Change
The information about how trees impact climate change is taken from the National Arbor Day website
http://www.arborday.org/globalwarming/treesHelp.cfm, and the American Forest Foundation website
www.americanforests.org/resources/climatechange/
Deciduous trees, planted on the west, east and south sides, will keep your house cool in the summer and let the sun
warm your home in the winter, reducing energy use.
Just three trees, properly placed around a house, can save up to 30% of energy use.
Trees or shrubs planted to shade air conditioners help cool a building more efficiently, using less electricity. A unit
operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun.
Neighborhoods with well-shaded streets can be up to 6–10° F cooler than neighborhoods without street trees, reducing
the heat-island effect, and reducing energy needs.
Shaded parking lots keep automobiles cooler, reducing emissions from fuel tanks and engines, and helping reduce the
heat-island effect in communities.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary gas causing global climate change. Trees retain the carbon (C) from the
CO2 molecule and release oxygen (O2) into the atmosphere. The retained carbon makes up half the dry weight of a tree.
Forests are the world's second largest carbon reservoirs (oceans are the largest). Unlike oceans, however, we can grow
new forests. One acre of forestland will sequester between 150 - 200 tons of CO2 in its first 40 years.
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