Visitors walking along the Naperville Riverwalk on Arbor Day and during the two weeks following may notice large, green tags on a few of the trees along the Riverwalk with a dollar value included. The tags, provided by the Morton Arboretum, show the estimated value of the environmental benefits of the tree for one year.
The Arboretum provided a tree benefits calculator that returns an estimated value based on the tree species, diameter at breast height, and location where the tree is planted. For example, a 17.8” Honey Locust tree gives back approximately $204 annually, taking into account the tree’s ability to clean the air, reduce stormwater runoff, provide wildlife habitat, and capture carbon dioxide from the air.
According to Parks North and Riverwalk Manager Chuck Papano, the hanging tree tags this year are designed to help passers-by understand the significant return on investment that communities gain by planting trees.
“We encourage people who want to plant trees at home to visit the City of Naperville’s Arbor Day Tree Sale on Sat., April 27 where they can find a variety of trees that are reasonably priced and suitable for our climate,” Papanos said.
On May 10, a group of students from Meadow Glens School will hang additional tree tags on the trees at Meadow Glens Park as part of The Conservation Foundation’s Might Acorns program. These tree tags will promote the new trees recently planted as part of the park redevelopment, and will mark some of the older trees as well.
For more information about the benefits of trees visit www.mortonarb.org/everytreematters. Details about the City of Naperville’s Arbor Day Tree Sale can be found at http://www.naperville.il.us/arbordaytreesale.aspx. To learn more about the Naperville Park District visit www.napervilleparks.org.
