Claremont Colleges Tree Canopy
A Claremont Colleges Sustainability Initiative
2008 Initiatives
- Claremont Colleges Tree Canopy:
- Solar Technologies for the Claremont Colleges
- Scripps College Food and Sustainability Community Project
2007 Initiatives
Campus Trees
Introduction
Analysis of the Claremont Colleges Tree Canopy
Why Conduct an Urban Ecosystem Analysis?
An Urban Ecosystem Analysis is a methodology for establishing the environmental and economic benefits of trees within a specified area. Trees provide direct (reduce stormwater runoff, improve air and water quality, and increase carbon sequestration) and indirect benefits (decrease local ambient air temperatures through evapotranspiration thereby reducing air-conditioning use and carbon emissions from energy suppliers). Trees provide communities with many valuable services that can be measured in terms of quantifiable benefits that may include:- Saving Energy – trees provide building shade and help to mitigate the heat island effect and in so doing, reduce air conditioning use, electricity costs, and air pollution from the generation of electricity
- Reducing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide – trees absorb carbon dioxide thereby lowering the rate of global warming
- Improving Air Quality – trees absorb and filter air pollution plus they filter surface water and prevent erosion
- Reducing Stormwawter Runoff – trees reduce the infrastructure needed to manage stormwater and reduce the need for landscape irrigation
- Aesthetics and Other Benefits – while more difficult to quantify, these include improved scenic values and improved human health and well being.
Content © 2007-2009 The Claremont Colleges.
For questions about the Initiatives or this website, please contact:
Michael Ballagh, Assistant Dean, Pitzer College · 909-607-3450 · michael_ballagh@pitzer.edu
