From the Facebook of: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 

It’s Forest Appreciation Week in Wisconsin (April 21-25), Earth Day is tomorrow and Arbor Day is Friday. That means we’ve got a lot of reasons to celebrate!

We want to kick off this exciting week by highlighting the importance of Wisconsin’s rural and urban forests and the people who work in them.

Many of the forest products we use every day are rooted in sustainable forestry. This ensures healthy and vibrant forests for present and future generations while also fostering economic prosperity, jobs and goods that benefit the people of Wisconsin and beyond.

Urban trees provide millions of dollars of environmental, economic and aesthetic benefits to our communities. Over their lifetime, street trees provide benefits that exceed the costs of planting and care, representing a 300% return on investment.

Even more exciting, the benefit trees provide increases over time. That means it’s important to plant trees and provide ongoing maintenance and protection once they’re growing.

Trees provide a ton of great ecosystem benefits, which include:

– Reducing stormwater runoff, air pollution and atmospheric carbon dioxide

– Lowering summer air temperatures and reducing heating bills

– Enhancing property values and aesthetics

– Providing wildlife habitat

– Improving health and wellbeing