Andrew's Earth Alerts

The Importance of Forests

It's really important to protect the health of the forest. This is important for the whole earth. 

The forest is the world's lungs 

• They provide the world with oxygen.
• They store carbon dioxide.
• They are gas exchangers.
• They are the way we get fresh air. 

 The forest is the world's heart

• They are the way we smile at each other. 
• We exchange inspiration. 
• They provide us with ideas for stories. 
• They help lift us with their beauty. 
• They trust we will do the right thing - that we (humans) will love each other.

Trees are the world's roots 

• They are there to track our history. 
• They are there throughout a long time period.
• They are wise family members.
• They are a long history of tales.
• They know and see more than we do.
• They are special friends that are there for us. 

Protect Our Water

One way to improve the health of our rivers and lakes is to better manage stormwater. We can learn from the way that nature deals with stormwater. In nature most of the rainwater is absobred into the soil as close to the source of run-off as possible. This prevents run-off from getting too contaminated  with pollutants, and then traveling across roads into our waterways

We can help by:

• Naturalizing paved areas  
• Harvesting rain water 
• Growing green roofs 
• Using permeable paving materials

Reducing stormwater run-off also helps to recharge groundwater. Guelph is one of the largest cities in Canada to rely on groundwater for its water supply. The Wellington Water Watchers is a non-profit that helps to protect our water.