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Perspectives on trees in cities

I read about the segment on tree-lined streets in San Francisco produced by Humankind in the Earth Day issue of the Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) e-newsletter.  You can listen to a free excerpt here.  The show's host, David Freudberg, interviewed regular FUF tree planter Charlie Starbuck and City of San Francisco's official urban forester Carla Short.  The Humankind show page features two quotes taken from the interviews with Starbuck and Short which I think illustrate the gradient of positive perspectives on trees in cities.  Here are the quotes:

Image: Tree planting at Ditmas Park West courtesy of Flatbush Gardener (source)
"[When people come together to plant street trees] it brings the neighborhood together. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been planting trees, and people that have been living on the same block for five or ten years have not met each other, and they’ll meet over planting a tree, and become good friends, as well as their children."

- Charlie Starbuck, volunter tree-planter, Friends of the Urban Forest


"Trees store carbon in their wood. They also create oxygen and -- and part of storing the carbon is absorbing the carbon dioxide. So a lot of people are aware that carbon dioxide contributes to global climate change, and trees will take up that carbon and store it in their wood…They also take up fine particulate matter. Which means that they can help clean the air for citizens. So in cities where asthma is more and more prevalent, trees can actually help contribute to a cleaner air for people."

- Carla Short, Urban Forester, City and County of San Francisco

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