Native Trees, Like Oaks and Yaupons, are Good for Our Environment and Our Health – Living Architecture Monitor magazine

Sourced from the Advocate

If you're planning to add trees and shrubs to your yard, now is the time to do it.

Planting in the fall gives them time to get established, and, when spring arrives, they will flourish.

This season, look beyond crepe myrtles and Bradford pear trees and pick native trees, shrubs and plants.

When you think "native," thinkplants that occur naturally in the region, state, ecosystem or habitat without direct or indirect human intervention.

Native trees like magnolias, oaks, swamp titis, yaupons, native fringe trees, Virginia willows, fetterbushes, pond cypress, swamp tupelos, native persimmons and paw paws can make your yard look great and provide crucial resources for wildlife.

Native trees have become a crucial part of the mission of Baton Rouge Green.

The 30-year-old organizations priority used to be planting trees for beautification of the city's landscape, said Christopher Cooper, a program specialist for Baton Rouge Green.

Weve made a transition from just city beautification to seeing trees as what they really are: green infrastructure and essential infrastructure," he said. "Because of this, weve been planting as many native trees as we can."

To help turn our planted landscapes into effective biological corridors, Cooper said we need to add native plants to our neighborhoods, corporate landscapes and lands bordering infrastructure even in dense cities.

Baton Rouge Green currently manages over 4,300 trees on the roadways and in community landscapes in East Baton Rouge Parish. The organization maintains the trees with pruning, fertilization, weed control, insect control and incident management through an agreement with Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and East Baton Rouge Parish Department of Public Works.

Each year, a study showed, these 4,300 trees prevent the runoff of over 11.4 million gallons of stormwater, save the community over 466,000 kilowatt-hours of energy and store over 1.4 million pounds of carbon, among countless other ecological benefits.

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Native Trees, Like Oaks and Yaupons, are Good for Our Environment and Our Health - Living Architecture Monitor magazine