As the proverbial saying goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time to plant a tree is NOW." Several employees at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) can attest to that. It doesn’t take long for a tree to grow up where a person can appreciate the beauty of it, and animals make a home in it.
On April 24th, 2024, MMAC celebrated another Earth Day in the Plaza near the Headquarters building. Among several other activities, the Office of Facility Management (AMP) provided free saplings to employees for planting.
There are many benefits to planting trees. According to the Nature Conservancy, they eat the greenhouse gases that cause climate change; leaves clean the air so we can breathe more easily; trees give a home to wildlife that we love; they offer shade, which acts like a natural air conditioner, which can reduce energy costs of our actual air conditioning systems; they filter ground water; walking in a forest can actually reduce stress in our lives; and trees help to retain water in the soil and prevent erosion.
Back in the 1930s, during the "Dust Bowl" days, trees were the solution to bringing the economy back on track, tackling drought and keeping the wind from blowing the topsoil away. By presidential order, "Shelterbelts" were planted along fields - the first one in western Oklahoma was installed between Willow and Mangum.
According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Shelterbelts varied in length and ranged from 100 to 165 feet wide. Rows were planted ten feet apart, with tall trees in the center rows, flanked by rows of short trees along the sides, and shrubs in the outside rows. Black locust, catalpa, Chinese elm, cottonwood, green ash, hackberry, honey locust, mulberry, Osage orange, pecan, plum, Russian olive, red cedar, and walnut were commonly planted. Maximum protection was afforded when trees reached twelve to twenty feet in height.
Though we may not need to build shelterbelts in our neighborhoods, bringing a tree into your personal space will improve the appearance of your yard and will naturally benefit the world for years to come.
Over the years, some employees have planted trees that they’ve brought home from Earth Day at the Aeronautical Center. Below we highlight our friends that have taken a positive approach to bring us to a greener tomorrow.
