Graham discuss why he feels trees are an integral part of our lives

World Environment Day on 5^th June is a great opportunity for raising awareness and galvanising people into action.  It is a key element of UNEP (the UN’s Environment Programme) and this year I am particularly excited as the theme globally is ‘forests’.

Trees and forests have long been a source of inspiration to me personally and I am extremely lucky to have spent 12 years of my working life running the environmental charity, Trees for Cities, which I now chair.  As well as being objects of great beauty, trees provide a wide range of environmental benefits – they absorb harmful CO2 emissions, the main cause of global warming; they provide a habitat for birds and insects; in the urban environment, they have a valuable cooling effect and provide shade where it is needed in areas like playgrounds and parks. 

I believe that we all know instinctively that trees are a good thing, and World Environment Day helps put a spotlight on them and stir people into action.  Here at Green Rewards all the team are making individual pledges and whilst there may be some cynics who poo-poo the pledging concept, research from University of Manchester shows that individuals who commit themselves to a particular behaviour are more likely to act on their good intention!

 My pledge is to run the Trees for Cities’ Tree-Athlon in London’s Battersea Park on Saturday 17 September, and through my participation in this to raise enough money for the planting of at least another four trees in urban areas.  The Tree-Athlon is a great fun run event and I’d urge anyone reading this who hasn’t yet made their pledge to sign up and join me in running for the trees.* 

*To make your World Environment Day pledge, please click here. Alternatively, if you would like to sign up for this year’s Tree-Athlon, please click here.