Batavia club tags trees with their environmental value

Scores of trees in Batavia have price tags on them, but they are not for sale.

Instead, the giant tags proclaim the value of each tree's contribution to a better life.

"Trees are very important and they are fragile, and we need to nurture and take care of them," said Rosemary Henders, co-chairman of the Value Our Trees committee of the Batavia Woman's Club.

The committee has tagged 100 to 150 trees this month, she said. The tags will be taken down in October.

"We felt it was important to call to the community's attention how we should treasure them (trees) and care for them," Henders said.

The tags came from Morton Arboretum's Community Trees Program.

Each tag notes what the individual tree does, based on its size and type. Committee members measured trunk circumference, and used the National Tree Benefit Calculator to come up with the statistics.

The most noteworthy might be a 300-year-old bur oak just south of the West Side Cemetery on Route 31. That tree has a 58-inch trunk, she said. By the group's calculations, it diverts 7,231 gallons of stormwater runoff a year, and takes 1,016 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. If it were near a building, its shade would cool it enough to save 485 kWh of electrical power. The tags also list the dollars the trees lend to the property's value.

Young trees are pointed out, too, to encourage people to plant trees. "It will contribute something, even if it's a small tree," Henders said.

All the trees are on parkways or public property.

The Value Our Trees committee's campaign was endorsed by the Batavia Park District, the Batavia Tree Commission, the Spiritual Green Connection and the Batavia Public Library. Ten trees at the library are tagged.

Between 2006 and October 2013, Batavia removed about 1,400 parkway trees that had been killed by infestation of emerald ash borers. Other trees are suffering from the stress of the 2012 drought, and the harsh winter of 2013-14, Henders said.

Value Our Trees is a subcommittee of the Conservation and Garden Department of the club. The department works to conserve the area's natural resources, including native plants and animals, and to promote gardening.