BY KATIE THORN
South Jersey Climate News
Across from the historic city of Philadelphia is Camden, New Jersey, home to more than 70,000 residents and some of South Jersey’s biggest companies. Behind the booming businesses are streets that flood, water that’s polluted, and air that’s contaminated.
The city may be facing these environmental hardships, but environmental advocates are turning to something simple to benefit the area: trees.
The New Jersey Tree Foundation is a statewide nonprofit aimed at planting trees in underserved communities and one of these communities is Camden. With educational opportunities and volunteer excursions, the New Jersey Tree Foundation has planted over 8,600 trees in Camden.
In early August, the Tree Foundation held its annual TreeKeepers events, where the organization’s representatives educated Camden residents on a handful of topics related to trees. From showing the steps of identifying trees, to explaining what to keep in mind before planting a tree, the group covered everything local residents need to know about trees.
But if an area such as Camden is facing so many environmental hardships, what difference can planting trees really make?
While trees may be everywhere, and can pose a risk during a strong thunderstorm, they have a multitude of benefits and they quietly help the environment and the people around them.
Trees absorb storm matter
Camden is located directly on the Delaware River, a body of water that is highly contaminated with pollutants. From runoff from fertilizers to litter, the waterways located near Camden are in poor condition.
“There’s a lot of fish and insects that are disappearing from our waterways because it’s just too unhealthy for them to live,” said Crystal Wessel, the Program Director for the New Jersey Tree Foundation’s South Jersey Program.
Poor water quality is one issue in Camden, but so is flooding.
Camden has a combined sewer system, meaning all types of water such as rainwater, water from plumbing, and industrial water, all flow through the same pipe. Since Camden is covered in mostly asphalt and concrete, water can’t be absorbed into the ground during the water cycle, and instead will runoff into the sewage systems. This can eventually result in street flooding, something Camden residents have seen often.
Trees however, can help absorb rainwater and potentially prevent floods.
“Trees could help to absorb storm water, and then filter it and that runoff,” said Wessel.
Wessel uses i-Tree Design, a website dedicated to estimate individual tree benefits to educate others on the usefulness of a single tree.
“A four-by-four tree pit will absorb 750 gallons of water a year,” said Wessel. “I use it to calculate how much water a hedge maple tree will absorb… and it could absorb around 159 gallons a year….25 years from now, that tree could help remove 469 gallons per year.”
Trees absorb pollutants
With Camden being located right across the bustling city of Philadelphia, the air is often filled with industrial pollutants and carbon dioxide. Trees not only absorb water, but also help soak up pollutants and CO2.
In 2022, Philadelphia produced around 12.9 million metric tons of green-house gas emissions, according to the Philadelphia Citywide Greenhouse Gas Inventory. These pollutants can eventually make their way across the river to Camden.
With these pollutants filling the air, trees can act as a tool to absorb the pollutants.
“They can also kind of act like a barrier and physically trap particular matter like dust and smoke,” said Wessel.
Using i-Tree, Wessel explained how one elm tree could remove 45 pounds of pollutants from the air over the course of 50 years.
By removing some of the pollutants riddling the air, trees can also help make breathing easier.
While the presence of trees can help benefit the environment, the removal of trees can add CO2 back into the environment.
“If you got this nice big oak tree that’s been pulling carbon out of the air for 100 years, and now we cut it down, where does that carbon go? Back into the atmosphere,” said Wessel.
The planting of a tree
So, there are many benefits to trees, but what should someone look out for when it comes to planting a tree?
Wessel recommends starting the planting process by looking up. She advises to look up in the air and see if electric wires are there. If so, it may alter your tree planting process. It’s also important to look down, and examine soil type, and underground utilities such as pipes.
According to Wessel, when planting a tree, it is important to consider if the tree would get proper sunlight, and what the main source of water would be for the tree to grow.
There are many other things to consider when it comes to planting trees, but the New Jersey Tree Foundation holds planting events where residents can see the steps of planting a tree and be a part of the planting process.
