Take a Walk at Ivy Creek

White Trail
Ecology in Action

4. Further along the trail, the forest will "open up" into a stand of mature American Beech.

Nature's Air Conditioner

The atmosphere in this pleasant grove of American beech trees is cool and inviting even in midsummer. Under the shade of large, mature trees such as these the temperature is often ten or more degrees cooler than in the open. In this way the forest actually moderates the climate of the area. We might even call trees a natural air conditioner.

This is just one of many benefits trees provide. They also:

• provide wood for homes, furniture, fuel, pencils, paper, musical instruments and much more
• give off oxygen we need to breathe and clean our air by filtering dust and other pollution
• keep global temperatures down by absorbing carbon dioxide and storing the carbon in its cells
• recycle nutrients and enrich the soil through leaf litter and decomposing wood
• protect our soil and water resources by preventing erosion and runoff and absorbing pollutants
• abate noise pollution and block the sun and wind making our lives more comfortable
• provide shade, privacy, and beauty
• provide homes, food and shelter for wildlife as well as corridors for wildlife to migrate and move about
• And trees give us perspective ... a connection to the past and the future

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Walk among giants at Ivy Creek