protecting our lands
Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains
by lawrence malone
second in a Two-Part Series
Since its founding 15 years ago , Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains has grown its membership and taken important actions to benefit the environmental health of our region . A few of its signature achievements follow .
Tree planting with the Nature Conservancy
In the summer of 2020 Friends made a financial contribution to the Nature Conservancy to support planting 600 trees to help restore Virginia ’ s “ founding forest ” as seen by the earliest settlers to the colony . Friends also matched on dollar-for-dollar basis contributions made to the Nature Conservancy by Friends members .
Why trees ? Trees are a big part of the solution to many environmental problems in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains . Trees clean the air . According to the Nature Conservancy , they are the most efficient consumers of carbon dioxide on the planet . That is important because excess carbon dioxide contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect that continues to warm our planet .
As trees grow , the leaves pull carbon dioxide and water from the atmosphere and use the energy of the sun to convert this into chemical compounds such as sugars that feed the tree . One acre of trees pulls about six tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year .
As a by-product of this chemical reaction , oxygen is produced and released by the tree . According to an article by Dr . Anne Marie Helmenstine published by ThoughtC , a single mature tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year on average , enough to support the life of two human beings .
Trees are also natural sponges , collecting and filtering rainfall and releasing it slowly into streams and rivers . They are the most ef-
22 wander I spring • summer 2022