City stresses importance of trees
The difficulty in assigning a numeric value to a tree’s worth notwithstanding, Hot Springs’ urban forestry department wants the public to know trees provide a quantifiable good on multiple fronts.
Anthony Whittington, the city’s urban forester, put their contributions into a numerical context with tags he placed earlier this spring on Lacebark elms adorning downtown. Whittington said the trees, planted in the 1990s, serve more than an ornamental function.
“They’re great not only for aesthetic reasons but also for property values and lower electricity bills, as well,” he said. “There are studies that show how much they’re worth to businesses that have trees shading their sidewalk.
“But it’s not just monetary value. They have an environmental impact and value, as well.”
He said the tagging campaign is part of the department’s broader education initiative.
“We want to get the word out that trees aren’t just here to shade your walk,” he said. “They’re here to do other things we don’t think about every day.”
According to the National Tree Benefit Calculator, a 15-inch diameter Lacebark elm planted downtown provides $108 in annual value. Stormwater absorption accounts for $28.49 of the benefit, with a species that size keeping 2,878 gallons of runoff out of area waterways every year.
It’s also removing $5.90 of carbon dioxide, or 801 pounds, from the atmosphere
annually. The heat it blocks and water vapor it emits lighten the burden on the power grid by 114-kilowatt hours, or $9.40 a year.
The city, recognized as a Tree City USA for almost 20 years, has bought into the value of trees. It hired Whittington last summer, making the city one of a handful of municipalities in Arkansas with a full-time urban forester or arborist.
He said the city planted 30 trees this year and has plans for edible landscaping at the David F. Watkins Memorial Tunnel Park on Park Avenue.
“There will be fig, pecan and apple trees, and a whole row of blueberry and blackberry bushes,” he said.
The urban forestry department’s $384,233 budget allows it to care for more than 10,000 trees on city rights of way and property. Whittington said the department has been tasked with planting two new trees for every one it removes.