Pictured: Black oak tree (circa 1790) at 6 Beechwood.  By the Green Committee. 

By the Bronxville Green Committee

Oct. 5, 2022: Town historian Ray Geselbracht recently unearthed a fascinating document.  In 1976, as part of Bronxville’s Bicentennial Celebration, the Boulder Ledge Garden Club assembled an inventory of Bronxville’s specimen and historic trees, complete with maps indicating where the trees were located.  Walking the Village today, you can see which of these special trees still exist. On 3 Hemlock is a stand of Tulip trees from the 1840s! On 6 Beechwood Road stands a giant Black oak that dates from 1790!

Overall Bronxville still maintains a healthy tree canopy; however, in recent years, we’ve lost as many as 50 mature canopy trees to storms.  The Village has lost additional trees to construction projects, especially home renovations that expand the built environment and require the removal of trees, and to private decisions to cut down healthy trees.  As our mature trees near the end of their natural lives, they become more vulnerable to disease and, for the safety of us all, sometimes need to be removed.

Why is it important to ensure that our tree canopy will still be strong 25 and 50 years from now?

All trees, especially mature native trees, offer enormous ecological benefits:

Trees help fight climate change in two ways--by storing carbon in their biomass and in the soil, especially in their roots; and by transpiration, the process in which they take up water through their roots and release it through their leaves as water vapor that cools the air.

Mature trees are able to absorb and sequester much more carbon than young trees can.  When we lose a mature tree, it’s important to replant it right away.

Transpiration gives trees the ability to lower the surface air temperature by as much as 10 degrees.  Trees reduce “heat island effect” in which hard man-made surfaces absorb and reflect heat, raising the surface air temperature far beyond the ambient air temperature. 

For example, when tree canopy was lost to a blight in Worchester, MA, the average cost to cool a home there rose by 40%.  Well-placed trees on your property can reduce your air conditioning costs considerably.

Trees reduce flooding by absorbing large amounts of rainwater. Leaves and twigs hold rain for some time, delaying its journey to the ground and allowing more time for the water to be absorbed into the earth instead of running off into storm drains.

Trees clean our drinking water.  New York City’s celebrated tap water (which Bronxville shares!) is made possible by thousands of acres of forested watershed, which filters out pollutants.

Trees remove air pollution and muffle sound:  Trees remove pollutants from the air, improving air quality and human health.  They help subdue urban noise, making neighborhoods more pleasant to live in.

Trees provide privacy and turn an ugly space into a beautiful one.

Trees that are native to our area provide food and habitat for local wildlife; a mature Eastern Red oak can support as many as 500 species of insects, birds, and mammals.  To begin to reverse alarmingly sharp declines in biodiversity across the planet, we need to add trees and other plants that have evolved along with local living creatures and are uniquely designed to provide their food and shelter. 

Trees significantly increase home values; a good tree canopy makes communities highly desirable places to live.

Trees contribute to our mental and physical well-being—commonsense knowledge that’s now backed by scientific studies--and add immeasurable aesthetic appeal.  They give us joy.  

Given the enormous value trees add to our community, the advanced age of our tree canopy, and concerns about recent tree losses, it’s important that we all work together to ensure their preservation.  The best thing we can all do is care for the trees we have and plant new ones, of many species.  Fall is a great time to plant trees. Look for our article next week about native trees in our area and how to care for and plant trees.

The Bronxville Green Committee is a volunteer organization that is part of the Village of Bronxville. We work to propose and implement environmentally sustainable programs in our community. Visit us at www.bronxvillegreencommittee.org