The Nature Conservancy of Missouri will plant 100 trees in parts of northern St. Louis County to help reduce air pollution, heat islands and floods through the canopy program.

Through the Treesilience program, the Conservation Society will work with Forest Releaf, Missouri, and Beyond Housing, a community development organization, to remove dead, dying, or dangerous trees on private property in some communities in northern St. Louis County. For every tree removed, foresters and volunteers plant two trees.

Doug Seely, a community forester of Beyond Housing, said that due to poor air quality, people living in some communities in northern St. Louis County have a high incidence of hospitalization for asthma and other respiratory diseases.

"As we increase the canopy, each leaf becomes a small air filter," Seely said. "Therefore, the more leaves we have, the more particulate matter we can take out of the air, thus preventing it from entering the lungs of our young and old, thereby helping to alleviate some health problems such as asthma."

The plan is to help people like Dorothy Collins, who lives in the Pine Lawn community in northern St. Louis County. Air pollution and asthma-related hospitalization rates are high in the area. The forester cleared a dangerous tree from the side of Collins' house and planted two new vinyl trees in her backyard.

Collins said that because of the poor air quality, she worried about the health of her grandchildren when they visited her. Her grandson suffers from asthma and she dare not let him out to play.

"It makes me feel bad because they have trouble breathing when they are around, and I don't like seeing them suffer," Collins said.

The plan will also provide residents with education about the benefits of trees and how to manage them.

Rebecca Hankins, partner coordinator at Forest ReLeaf, Missouri, said that some people take trees for granted and forget that they serve other purposes besides beautifying communities.

"The tree-lined streets are not only beautiful, but they add value to the property," Hankins said. “It provides much-needed shade, which reduces energy costs. It provides rainwater management and helps reduce flooding in the basement. It reduces stress levels. It calms traffic.”

Forest ReLeaf in Missouri will hire young people to help plant and discard trees. Canopy Crew of Forest ReLeaf will also work with green industry experts to obtain job training.

"Trees provide so many benefits, and exposing young people to trees and what they do and involving them in this work will only help create new tree managers for the future," Hankins said.

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