The Tortoise Website

The Tortoise Website
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Friday 17 October 2014

Perfect Gifts For Tree Huggers

By Patty Goff


'Tree-huggers' are proud of this label. They promote the natural balance of the planet, and nothing is more important to this goal than trees. Gifts for tree huggers can therefore be anything that celebrates the planet, nature, and any one of more than 10,000 species of tree. There are also specialized items with the Hugger theme.

The planet is dependent on trees, scientists say. Because they remove carbon dioxide from the air and produce oxygen, they and other green plants make life possible. They also remove other pollutants, both man-made and natural, like smog in cities, smoke from forest fires, volcanic ash, and dust from farming and construction. They add moisture to the air, too.

Many people are aware that trees clean and oxygenate the air, but fewer realize they also clean the soil. In fact, land poisoned with industrial waste can be reclaimed by planting trees. They are also soil builders, dropping nutrient-rich leaves and needles and bringing valuable minerals up from the subsoil. They keep precious topsoil from eroding away and protect rivers and lakes from silt because their roots stabilize the ground.

They help people save energy. A large maple or oak planted to the west of a home might cut air conditioning by thirty percent. A windbreak shields buildings from harsh winter winds and cuts heating costs, as well as protecting farmland from the eroding and drying effects of wind. Trees add significant value to a home for these reasons and for their inherent beauty.

A single large trunk, branch, and root complex will trap hundreds of gallons of water and release it slowly into the ground. This allows rainwater to penetrate deep into aquifers underground, which feed wells and keep rivers and lakes full. Paved surfaces and bare ground send water into storm drains or directly into natural run-off instead of replenishing important stores of ground water.

Every trunk, branch, and twig is home to familiar wildlife, like birds and squirrels, and myriads of insects, frogs, lizards, and snakes people may never see. All the things trees do to benefit living things makes a wide variety of gifts appropriate to anyone who truly appreciates these gentle living giants.

T-shirts, hats, windbreakers, sweatshirts, and garden aprons are decorated with trees or their many associates. Garden sculptures, like the Green Man, depict woodland sprites and spirits that man has always imagined inhabiting woodlands. Designs range from a stylized Tree of Life to scenes of forested lakeshore or mountainside. Brilliant fall leaves, even more colorful butterflies, tree-frogs, and delicate spiderwebs decorate coffee mugs, mouse pads, screen savers, yard flags, and calendars. Paintings and photographs of natural scenes make thoughtful and appreciated gifts.

There are other things to do, too, like planting a tree to replace one lost elsewhere, making a donation to save the rainforest in someone's name, or even building a tree-house. Seasonal ornaments, window art, or a pretty picture or painting can acknowledge someone's passion. The wide world and over ten thousand species of tree serve as inspiration, so checking tree-huggers off your list is not a problem.




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