Trees
Trees - especially groupings of trees - can help to reduce the amount of lawn you have to mow, and give your yard shape and extra colour. Evergreens provide year-round colour long after the grass has been buried under the snow, while deciduous trees provide the bright autumn colours for which Canada is so well known. Fruiting trees can help attract birds to your garden. And there are numerous financial and environmental benefits to increasing the number of trees on your property.
- Use trees and shrubs around the home to save energy. Trees can reduce home heating and cooling costs by as much as 15-30%. Evergreens, shrubs and hedges planted on the north and west sides of your home will act as windbreaks in the winter months. Deciduous trees on the south side of the house will shade your home in the summer, while allowing sun through in the winter.1, 2
- Trees can help increase property value by up to 20 percent, providing an excellent return on investment!3
- Because of their location close to the source of the problem, urban trees can be up to 15 more times effective than forest trees in transforming greenhouse gases before they can escape into the open atmosphere.4
- Because of their size, the older trees on a well-treed private lot can store almost as much carbon dioxide as the equivalent area of forest, helping us to curb climate change. 5, 6
