A recent post on The Atlantic Cities website tallies up the economic benefits of urban trees. Each tree in Tennessee’s cities was found to have $2.25 in “measurable economic benefit” each year. The City of Baltimore holds between 2.6 and 2.8 million trees, depending on the source you consult. If the economic benefits hold consistent between Tennessee and Maryland, Baltimore saves between $5.85 and $6.3 million each year. The City of Baltimore’s Department of Recreation and Parks measures the benefits of its trees differently, calculating the following economic benefits:

$3.3 million a year in energy savings by shading buildings from the summer sun and blocking winter winds.

$10.7 million a year by storing 527 tons of carbon

$3.8 million a year by removing 700 metric tons of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide

$1.6 million a year by removing 244 metric tons of ozone, the main ingredient in smog and a leading factor contributing to asthma

According to the Baltimore Tree Trust, Baltimore’s tree canopy has declined by one third and only covers about 25% of Baltimore’s land area. The goal of the Tree Trust is to increase the City’s tree canopy to 40% of its surface area by 2040. This seems like a pretty modest goal, but in order to achieve this goal, Baltimore City and its residents must plant a total of 750,000 trees over the next 28 years or about 26,000 trees per year. Baltimore City cannot do this by itself (the City doesn’t even plant 10,000 trees per year) but that’s only about 1.2 trees per person. So, as with so many other lofty goals, the key to reforesting Baltimore is public involvement.

In order to encourage people to plant trees in their neighborhood or on their property, it might be helpful to share some facts. For example, all property owners should know that both heating and cooling costs are reduced by 10% due to the tempered winds and shade provided by trees. Businesses might like to know that shoppers prefer shopping on tree-lined streets. In fact, shoppers tend to spend more time on shadier streets and are willing to pay %11 more for goods and services sold on such streets. Home values also tend to rise in areas with lots of trees. Finally, every taxpayer in Baltimore should know that neighborhoods with more street trees often have lower rates of violent and property crime.

Every city could benefit from more trees but Baltimore, in particular, has some issues that trees could help to address. With summer fast approaching, most Baltimoreans are not looking forward to the prospect of being outside in June, July, August and even September. A small amount of shade can make a huge difference in terms of reducing the Urban Heat Island Effect.

In order to combat this effect and increase its own canopy, Baltimore County, which suffers less from this effect than does Baltimore City, sells trees native to Maryland at a reduced rate. A similar program in Baltimore City could have a significant impact. Of course the residents are the ones who will make the biggest difference. Unfortunately, many Baltimoreans don’t have access to a car and can’t get to a nursery let alone bring a tree home. In order to reach its goal of a 40% land-cover tree canopy, strong partnerships must be forged between neighborhood associations, residents, the City and non-profits like Baltimore Green Works and The Baltimore Tree Trust. There is also no shortage of innovative programs across the country that aim to reduce the Heat Island Effect, any number of these programs could work well in Baltimore and help to address the other factors that contribute to the Heat Island Effect.