It may look like the trees you see every day are just standing around, blowing in the wind and soaking up the sun. But don’t judge a tree by its cover … these amazing perennial plants are a hard-working bunch. Two mature trees can supply enough oxygen annually to support a family of four, and trees absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over the course of their lives. Not to mention, their shade and wind buffering reduces annual heating and cooling costs by $2.1 billion. We could go on and on, but here’s our point. It’s time to thank our trees! Luckily there’s a day for that.
National Love a Tree Day, celebrated annually on May 16, recognizes trees and all they do for us. You know, like give us the air we breathe … no big deal!
So this National Love a Tree Day, help us say three cheers for trees. GPO has lots of different ideas for you to spread the love, including reading some of our favorite publications from the GPO bookstore:
- Cozy up to your favorite shaded tree and read a good book. (Keep reading for suggestions).
- Calculate the age of a tree.
- Climb a tree … just play safely!
- Plant or water a tree.
- Take a nature walk in your nearby park or woods.
- Teach the kid in your life what their state tree is.
- Have your kids write a hand-written “thank you” note to our trees. Get creative. They can color pictures of trees. Even better, save a tree and create a card digitally!
- Practice tree pose. Namaste.
- Take a trip to see some of the oldest trees in the world at Redwood National Park.
- Read Why Would Anyone Cut a Tree Down from GPO’s bookstore with a little one. This book details the life cycle of trees and explains how trees work as a renewable resource.
- Learn about tree species and which species grow near you in the National Individual Tree Species Atlas from GPO’s bookstore.
- Help restore trees to good health when they need it with How To Recognize Hazard Defects in Trees from GPO’s bookstore.
So go on. Take three deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Ahhhh. And appreciate that precious oxygen a little more this Wednesday, May 16. We salute you, trees.
The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications
HOW DO I OBTAIN RESOURCES MENTIONED ABOVE?
Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.
- Click here to purchase Why Would Anyone Cut a Tree Down
- Click here to purchase National Individual Tree Species Atlas
- Click here to purchase How to Recognize Hazardous Defects in Trees
- Click here to purchase Trees at Work: Economic Accounting for Forest Ecosystem Services in the U.S. South
- Click here to purchase Forest Health Conditions in Alaska, 2016, A Forest Health Protection Report
- Click here to browse our Trees & Forests collection
Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.
Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.
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