Tree City USA

The Liberty Oak

You know what we remember from each of our summer beach trips to Hilton Head Island, SC?

Not the golf courses or the Salty Dog Cafe – the trees!

Hilton Head Island has held the Tree City USA designation for 9 years thanks to its progressive tree ordinance.  The tree ordinance states “No person shall cut, destroy, cause to be destroyed, move or remove any tree within the Town limits of Hilton Head Island without first obtaining a tree protection approval”

If you ask me that’s pretty freakin’ awesome.

Here’s five reasons I like travel destinations with trees.

1. shade, of course.  It’s hot as you know what down there
2. wildlife – we spent lots of time watching the squirrels and little lizards scurry around on the trees
3. they’re not billboards
4. oxygen – it’s kinda important, don’t you think
5. watching my kids climb on their branches

The Town of Hilton Head states that trees provide stormwater retention, wildlife habitat, and reduced energy consumption and encourages the planting of native vegetation which is drought tolerant reducing the need for irrigation.

So, why do many travel destinations want to cut the trees and replace them with concrete?  I guess they think buildings and pavement have more economic value than trees.  Planners in Hilton Head think otherwise going all the way back to Charles Fraser in the late 50′s and early 60′s.

I can remember trips to Ocean City, MD as a child where rows and rows of buildings and pavement stretch from the ocean well inland.  I don’t recall a single tree though I’m sure there had to be some, right.

What do you prefer – buildings and billboards or trees?

If it’s trees then check out other Tree City USA communities.

You know why we’ll return to Hilton Head Island next year – the live oaks, sea pines, black gum, magnolias….

Tags: green travel, hilton head island, travel green appalachia, tree city usa

This entry was posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2011 at 11:33 am and is filed under Blog, TGA's Travelogues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.