Johannesburg is a city blanketed with old greenery.

Some Northcliff residents are concerned about neighbours who recklessly hack down many of the old trees, however.

While it is Johannesburg City Parks who are responsible for the trees on our streets, it is still important for residents to know why a city needs trees.

The trees in our suburbs serve many purposes. They beautify our communities and release oxygen while offsetting carbon dioxide. They also moderate the climate by regulating the effects of the sun, wind and rain. What’s more is that trees and the soil they root in help to absorb run-off water associated with stormy weather. Without these trees there is the heightened possibility for erosion and flooding.

As Julius Sterling Morton, founder of Arbour Day said, “the cultivation of trees is the cultivation of the good, the beautiful, and the ennobling in man.”