by Tome Collins Saitoti  This essay has been slightly edited for clarity.

When people cut down trees, they often forget to stop and think what harm they could be doing to themselves and others.  Just think a moment how the world would look without trees.  It would be an empty, ugly place.  But trees are not valued for beauty only.  Through them we are able to get enough oxygen.  Human beings cannot live without oxygen.  We breathe ant a lot of carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide is harmful to humans.  Trees come in to help us.  Their leaves purify the air around us by taking in carbon and giving us oxygen.

Rain is very important to all forms of life on earth.  Without trees there would be much less rain for us.  The roots of trees putt water from deep within the earth and sent it into the air through the leaves.  This is the moisture that collects together until there are enough rain clouds.

On a hot day people love to shelter under trees.  On such days trees give welcome shade from the sun.  Trees also protect the soil from the harmful effects of heavy rain and hot sun.

When leaves fall to the ground, they provide a protective cover to the soil and when they rot they become humus, making the soil rich and fertile.  Monkeys, squirrels, lizards all shelter in trees.  If there were no trees, giraffes and elephants would have nothing to eat.

Some of the commonest products we get from trees are paper and timber.  We immediately think of house construction and furniture, but we also use wood for cooking and keeping ourselves warm.

We continue to cut trees down and it makes me wonder what our future will be as our forest become bare and ugly.  The soil will be unprotected and erosion will increase.  If this goes on for a long time, the land could easily become a desert.

I want to help stop this and think we should do a number of things.  First, we should stop cutting down trees carelessly.  Second, we should prevent forest fires.  Finally, we should actively plant trees instead of simply talking about the importance of trees.