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FOLLOW THAT TREE!

Anderson County Plants Trees at the Environmental Education Center

Columbia, SC – PalmettoPride, your anti-litter and beautification organization awarded 644 trees to 18 organizations last Wednesday.  These are no ordinary trees!  These trees are the result of a special program coordinated by PalmettoPride and South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) to help local governments and neighborhood organizations off-set the costs on beautification projects.   

Join us this week as we follow those trees! Keep America Beautiful of Anderson County will plant their trees on April 29 starting at 10:00am at the Environmental Education Center.   For local information, please contact Dana Whiten with KAB of Anderson County at 864-260-1003.

THE BENEFIT OF TREES

 According to the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT), these are some of the benefits:

• Tree canopies and root systems are a natural filter for our water supply and can reduce storm water run-off and erosion.
• Trees cleanse the air.  Much more than being oxygen producers, tree foliage reduces particles from the air including dust and ozone pollutants.  40 trees remove 80lbs of air pollutants annually. 
• 1 million trees = $5 million in annual air pollution cleanup. (www.actrees.org)
• Trees help cool the air, which can reduce smog and pollution.  Homes and businesses shaded by trees use less energy for cooling.
• 1 million tree = $10 million in annual energy savings. (www.actrees.org)
• Consumers respond positively to healthy environments.
• Trees have a positive economic impact on real estate transactions.  Landscaping speeds up the sale of a house by 4 – 6 weeks.
• Shaded business district = 11% increase in business. (www.actrees.org)

PalmettoPride purchases seedlings based on SC Forestry Commission native-plant guidelines, and SCDC nurtures the seedlings into trees at several horticulture sites in the state prison system.  This program not only allows PalmettoPride to have an indirect hand at grassroots beautification projects; it saves local governments a significant amount of money from not having to purchase the trees.  SCDC inmates also learn life-skills in horticulture from growing the plants.

PalmettoPride created the tree grant in conjunction as a way to impact the quality of life in communities statewide.  Trees and other landscaping not only create cleaner environments, but they provide for a healthy economic development platform.   

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