{"id":45762,"date":"2020-12-22T02:38:14","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T07:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/?p=45762"},"modified":"2020-12-20T09:42:18","modified_gmt":"2020-12-20T14:42:18","slug":"what-is-one-tree-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/2020\/12\/22\/what-is-one-tree-worth\/","title":{"rendered":"What is One Tree Worth?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How much is a tree worth? My tree was somehow both priceless, and utterly inconsequential. <\/blockquote><\/figure>Writing this during National Forest Week here in Canada, I\u2019m reflecting (as I frequently do) on the urban forest. As a scientist, I often find myself collapsing the beautiful, multidimensional, urban forest into a few general measurements: stand density, canopy cover, biomass, etc. But as an urban resident, I cherish these <\/span>trees as individuals<\/span><\/a><\/span>, too. Not long ago, I wrote elsewhere about <\/span>measuring my life in trees<\/span><\/a><\/span>; today, I have a new tree to introduce you to. A relationship that I\u2019m afraid may not last as long as I had hoped.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how did my new tree acquaintance and I come to meet? Amidst a world that seems increasingly to be crumbling, I often find myself counting my blessings. Keeping a mental gratitude journal, if you will, of the many ways in which I have been incredibly lucky during a time in which luck is elusive for many. Among those blessings is the recent end of a year-long house hunt in a new city, resulting in access to a small yard. A yard! The height of luxury after six months of apartment-bound pandemic-living here in Montreal. However, the real blessing, to me, is that our small yard came with a tree. For the first time in my adult life, I was to become the new caretaker of a beautiful, mature canopy tree of my very own.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo: Carly Ziter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We signed the papers to our house on a sunny morning, smiling\u2014and a little nervous\u2014under our masks. Within an hour, we received a phone call. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, but the neighbours\u2019 inspection has discovered an issue with a pipe. The tree will have to go.\u201d You see, the attached house next door was for sale too, and the tree\u2014my tree\u2014was quite close to the property line.<\/span><\/p>\n

I like to think of myself as a relatively calm, positive, measured person. You could describe me as friendly, neighbourly, and perhaps above all, as non-confrontational. At least, when it comes to most matters. Yet my response to this news was neither calm, measured, nor neighbourly in the least. (In fact, I believe my reaction to my husband was something along the lines of \u201cthey will not take my tree\u201d but peppered with language much less suitable for print). Our realtor\u2014more suspicious than us of the auspicious timing of it all\u2014commiserated with me, \u201cI\u2019d be upset too. You know, that tree is worth something!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo: Carly Ziter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here was the crux of the issue. Of course, my tree was worth something! Yet suddenly, I, a researcher who continues to devote much of my time to understanding\u2014and professing to anyone who will listen\u2014the myriad <\/span>ecological<\/span><\/i> benefits of urban trees<\/span><\/a><\/span>, was faced with this question in a very different light. What was this specific, decidedly non-abstract tree actually worth to me, personally?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the days following our phone call, I try to look at the situation with objective, ecologist eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

My tree is a box elder, or Manitoba Maple. Acer negundo<\/i>. A weed among trees, some might say! (Although\u2026 native to Canada<\/i>\u2026 another voice in my head whispers).<\/span><\/p>\n

At 45 cm diameter, and slightly tilting, our tree may even be past its prime for a species that typically lives only 60 years. (But we\u2019d take such good care of it<\/i>, the voice whispers. And I\u2019ve certainly seen larger ones in the city<\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

This really requires a landscape perspective, I think to myself. It\u2019s just one single tree and we could replace it, plant new trees of species that would bring increased diversity to a neighbourhood of other maples! (But they won\u2019t grow up for years\u2026 and our neighborhood is a heat island, now. Plus, look at the way its leaves catch the light outside your office window<\/i>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I try and remind myself how utterly lucky and privileged I am to have access to a yard at all but it\u2019s no use. So, how much is a tree worth? My<\/i> tree has value beyond measure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, after a few weeks to sit with my emotions, I have calmed down considerably. I even explain the problem to backyard visitors without fuming. My friends are shocked by this seeming nonchalance, saying, \u201cCarly…this is <\/i>your tree? Do they know who they\u2019re dealing with?<\/i>\u201d Nevertheless, my initially angry internal voice has quieted to a murmur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps, with a little time, I\u2019ve simply managed to remember that my \u201cproblems\u201d are in fact minuscule compared to the incredible systemic injustices and climate breakdown the news confronts us with each day. The knowledge that while I recently packed boxes to move into my home, my colleagues on the flame-engulfed west coast were packing bags to evacuate theirs. How much, again, is a tree worth? My tree was somehow both priceless, and utterly inconsequential.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or perhaps my change of heart is a result of the lecture I gave this week to a new class of undergrad biologists, on the <\/span>principles of urban ecology<\/span><\/a><\/span>. \u201cCities are dynamic,\u201d I explained to my students. \u201cConstantly changing as a result of changes in land use and management. Human and natural process also interact in cities.\u201d Built infrastructure (say, a leaking pipe) is inexorably linked with nature (a towering tree). Setting down roots in the city, I now realize, means coming to terms with these principles, even when they come home to roost in your own backyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make no mistake. I still fully plan to\u2014calmly, and non-confrontationally\u2014seek out a tree-preserving solution when our new neighbour moves in next month. But if need be, our tree will be replaced with a new sapling\u2014or maybe even two. Our very small piece of the city will change, just as the broader urban landscape always has, and will continue to do. And, next summer, I will undoubtedly write a new personal essay here in TNOC about my backyard vegetable garden (full sun!) <\/i>that I can\u2019t imagine living without. <\/span><\/p>\n

Carly Ziter
\n<\/strong>Montreal<\/span><\/p>\n

On The Nature of Cities<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writing this during National Forest Week here in Canada, I\u2019m reflecting (as I frequently do) on the urban forest. As a scientist, I often find myself collapsing the beautiful, multidimensional, urban forest into a few general measurements: stand density, canopy cover, biomass, etc. But as an urban resident, I cherish these trees as individuals, too. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":714,"featured_media":45766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,1103,298],"tags":[49,84,23,168],"coauthors":[955],"class_list":["post-45762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","category-north-america","category-essay-people-and-communitites","tag-communities","tag-livability","tag-north-america","tag-trees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/714"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45762"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=45762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}