The earth is losing its forests rapidly.  There are direct human causes such as logging and clearing the land for agriculture and housing and then there are the indirect causes from climate change. Drought and increasing temperatures have stressed trees making them suseptibile to disease and wildfires.

In my home state of Oregon, we have lost almost 2 million acres of forest due to wildfire in the last two years.  They are still burning as I write this.  This is personal to me as most of my favorite spots to kayak and camp have been destroyed, not to mention all the towns that have been leveled, the residents misplaced.

Similar losses have been occurring worldwide in I places California, Turkey, Australia just to mention a few. Along with the loss of forests, we lose oxygen in our atmosphere, gain pollution, and lose habitat for flora and fauna.  It’s a cycle that is going to get worse if we don’t take action.  By we I mean you and me.

Plant trees. it’s something we can all do.  Every year for a while now I have been adding trees to my yard.   It’s important to plant trees native to your area as they are adapted to your local conditions and will provide birds, animals, and bugs with the right nutrition and cover

No room in your yard or no yard? Plant in a friend or family’s yard ( with their permission of course).  If that doesn’t work there’s a great organization you can support called Tree Sisters.  They support tree planting worldwide. Here’s a list of other tree planting organizations around the world.

• One Tree Planted
• Trees for the Future
• Trees, Water & People
• International Tree Foundation
• Woodland Trust
• Trees for Life
• Trees for Cities
• Tree Aid
• International Animal Rescue

Go here for a review of the above organizations.

So …let’s do this!  Fall the perfect time to plant a tree.