Trees Tame Stormwater - cool interactive map

Okay. I know I said I was going to quit writing about trees for awhile, but sometimes trees - and great topics about trees - just sprout right up and can't be ignored.

 I found this cool interactive map on the Arbor Day Foundation website that shows you the benefits that planting trees has on preventing stormwater runoff. 

You can use the slider at the top of the graphic to show the difference that trees play in a landscape.

 As the site explains: Rain refreshes the land and nourishes the green landscape. But as houses, stores, schools, roads and parking lots spread and natural tree cover is lost, so is the absorbing effect of vegetation and soil. The welcome rain becomes costly stormwater runoff. Without the benefit of trees and vegetated infrastructure, waterways are polluted as oils, heavy metal particles and other harmful substances are washed away. Fish and wildlife suffer, drinking water becomes expensive or impossible to reclaim, property values are reduced, and our living environment is degraded.

Placing the slider at the far left, with few trees, shows a fairly bland landscape with popup boxes that explain the various consequences such as overwhelmed sewer systems. Moving the slider to the right not only shows a beautifully, wooded town, but also explains many of the benefits that I listed in my previous post of today, 20 More Benefits of Trees Hop on over to the Arbor Day Foundation website and check out the map. They also have beautiful pdf versions of the files that can be downloaded and printed.