The Joys of Green Spaces

There is no question that driving the span of the southern United States instills in a person an appreciation for green places. With many areas in the country experiencing long and frequent draughts, it certainly enhances the value of spending a day surrounded by lush, green grass and having trees in your sight everywhere you look. If, however, you don’t often wander through the desert, it’s easy to forget how important and useful these places are. Baton Rouge Green, a non-profit who works to install, maintain and educate about green places in its namesake city, would be the first to remind you that if you don’t work towards having these vital places, they could easily disappear. It is essential to keep these spaces safe and encourage their upkeep.

One of the first and foremost (and admittedly obvious) reasons that having trees and green spaces around is for environmental stability. Of course, animals use trees as their habitat but the effects of trees are even more far reaching. Susannah DesRoches of Baton Rouge Green informed us of these effects. “Trees are not independent of the water system and the soil system,” she said. “ If a developer could leave a few trees around [developments] then that’s less soil that they’re going to impact. They’re not going to carve into that land which would cause more erosion and run off during the construction process that’s going to affect the bayou and fish downstream.” In a place like Louisiana where much of the economy is based upon the healthiness of the bayous for fishing purposes, it is essential that trees protect the water supply from harmful runoff.  Of course, this isn’t limited to Louisiana. Anywhere there are operations, be it agriculture fields or commercial developments, without enough trees nearby could mean that unwanted soil and chemicals are flowing into nearby water systems. Luckily, with the hard work of organizations like Baton Rouge Green, Baton Rouge now has land ordinances that require developers to plant a certain amount of trees.  According to Susannah, “Now, anyone building a commercial development has to plant so many trees per square foot that they are developing, as well as plant trees to compensate for trees that they cut down. They actually put value on existing trees on the site and you have to replace an oak more than you have to replace a tree that’s invasive.” Unfortunately, these ordinances have no effect on individual’s private property. The city won’t force you to plant a tree, but you really should consider it. Not only will it help protect your water source from erosion from your backyard, but it will also help clean the air around your house. “Trees scrub the air. You know we have a lot of chemical plants and a lot of air pollution. Trees are the best natural air cleaner that we can be planting.” 

A view of some lovely green space in the city of Baton Rouge.

For those who are still unsure if they should go out and purchase plants to greenify their homes just because the environment is calling, they should also consider the returns on the investment they will be receiving. First of all, trees really aren’t an expensive investment to begin with. “A tree itself you can get as inexpensively as $25. I’ve also seen people that have planted a sapling for free that they got from the department of Ag. & Forestry. I’ve seen some of those grow into huge trees. We work a lot with low income neighborhoods where people are concerned with the cost of maintaining a tree, rightfully so, and its really a matter of educating people so that they understand its not a daunting task, they can maintain it themselves and probably get a lot of enjoyment from it,” said Susannah. She also informed us that even if you don’t feel like maintaining it yourself, you would probably only have to hire professional pruners once every 5-10 years to ensure the tree was structurally sound. Furthermore, having a large shade tree in regions where summer heat can become exhausting will actually give you monetary rewards, relieving your hardworking air conditioner with its expansive shade. Having a large live oak can also enhance your property’s value. Finally, having trees around your home can help save the water company money, which might in turn save you money. According to Susannah, “In Portland, Oregon, the city has partnered with their water works company to plant trees because they have so much rain and they have so much runoff to deal with much of the year. They are partnering with the water company to plant trees and the water companies help fund it because they see trees as infrastructure. They’d rather invest in a tree that’s going to take up so many gallons for so many years versus a pipe that’s going to have to be replaced so soon.” Trees have so many different uses, aside from just be aesthetically pleasing. They offer so many returns, from a delicious piece of fruit to actually saving you money.

Once you’ve decided that you are ready for the magnificent benefits of green spaces, you have to choose what is right for you. Many people make the mistake of trying to plant tall, water-loving trees in dry environments like Albuquerque or a cute cactus in a swampy environment. Not only is it unhealthy for the environment to bring in species that don’t belong, but it is also very likely that they will fail. A tall, green tree trying to grow under the desert sun will constantly thirst for water, requiring you to manually water it frequently. This in turn puts stress on water reservoirs that are already trying to survive frequent draughts. If you live in a desert environment, you should really make sure that your landscaping represents that. In turn, if you live in an extremely wet environment, find plants that will thrive with that much water. In the end, your yard will look naturally beautiful even if it doesn’t have all the plants in it that you dream of gardening.

A cactus with a pretty flower on top makes a perfect desert landscape plant.

Lastly, aside from all of the individual positive aspects of tree planting, green spaces provide incredible community value. For example, Baton Rouge Green works hard to incorporate low-income neighborhoods that aren’t as likely to have maintained green spaces or even have the time to work on them. Susannah told us, “NeighborWoods nationwide is not just for low income neighborhoods, but our NeighborWoods program has mostly been working with low income neighborhoods here in Baton Rouge, all around the parish.” This includes things like working on community gardens for the neighborhoods. According to Diane, the director of Baton Rouge Green, even major companies that have significant impacts on the environment are trying to make green spaces available for their communities to enjoy. “There are a number of companies in the city of Baton Rouge and surrounding areas that support our efforts and do a lot of their own green work, if you will. Exxon mobile… has bought up the area around their plant here in Baton Rouge and planted a beautiful green belt. Hundreds of hundreds of trees and a wildflower area and every year they plant more trees. It’s the employees out of the company that come out and do it. They love to plant trees and it’s made for a very nice area.”  Even if these companies do have some negative aspects, we have to say we respect them and their employees for working so hard to create a beautiful, public green space.

In the end, green spaces are essential to living in a pleasant community and they should not be forgotten. Trees and other plants have incredible benefits, both environmentally and fiscally. Do yourself a favor and plant a nice shade tree by your house to provide the perfect summer reading nook or even an apple tree for a nice afternoon snack. After you enjoy yourself, you can even give yourself a pat on the back for helping out your surrounding environment. 

*Don't forget to check out Baton Rouge Green's website at www.batonrougegreen.com!*