Eucalyptus and Neem Make for Super-Sustainable Trees

More Sustainable Trees

As we try to achieve a more sustainable world, it’s a good idea to look to nature for ideas.  And although we continue to grow through new ideas and innovations, it also pays to take a page from our ancestors.  Because we are progressing so quickly, old techniques and ideas seem to be thrown by the wayside, but they just may save our future.

One thing we will always essentially need is wood, and that means a damaging process of cutting down swaths of trees in the forests and releasing dangerous emissions back into the environment.  Deforestation has also been linked as the second-leading cause of global warming.  While many are supporting replanting measures, which is a great idea, why not look to “super-sustainable” trees to help preserve our forests?  Eucalyptus and neem trees sound like a great way to go green while having our cake and eating it, too.

Businesses like REI are now selling products made from eucalyptus wood because they claim that the trees grow quickly and “offer a strong, durable hardwood that has been harvested sustainably in Vietnam for years.” This is also true for the neem tree, which is said to grow quickly and have pest-reducing/resistant qualities.

Eucalyptus trees have a multitude of benefits, besides just producing beautiful furniture.  The trees are fast-growing and can be chopped off at the root so they can grow back.  They are also a great cash crop in their native environments and the oil can be used as a natural insecticide or in cleaning products.  Eucalyptus trees have also proved well in swamp draining in areas with risk of malaria.  They are even said to reduce erosion and provide windbreaks where they are planted and their cellulose can be extracted for use in biofuels.  One downside is that eucalyptus tends to be an invasive plant where they aren’t wanted (water drainage) and the oil in the trees is so flammable that trees have been known to explode!  And it is wise to leave them alone concerning natural habitats, like in parts of Australia, because koalas depend on the leaves for food.

The neem tree, on the other hand, is said to treat 40 different diseases and is known to be extremely drought resistant.  A healing plant, all parts of the tree are used for medicinal purposes from skin treatments to relieving fever to treating chicken pox to even possibly providing anti-diabetic properties.  It is also a natural insect repellant and can control nearly 500 different kinds of pests.  Rather than killing insects, mites and ticks right away, the oil from the neem tree seems to neutralize their growth and ability to reproduce.  Neem trees are currently being studied as having the potential to prevent malaria.

These both sound like great solutions for various problems we seem to be facing in the quest to go green and become sustainable. Only time will tell if harnessing the uses of these trees can make a big difference in preserving our natural world.

What do you think about businesses using these super-sustainable trees?  Tell us at SocialYell!

Ashley Strickland is a senior studying journalism at the University of Georgia.