How many factories would you say there are in Newburgh? The answer is: millions. Every green leaf on every tree is a manufacturer of food for the tree it graces; for the insects and animals that eat leaves and stems; for the larger animals that eat the smaller ones; and for the even larger animals – including us humans – who eat both plants and animals and so are part of the great food web.

In addition to producing food, trees are constantly working against the deadly global warming we’re going through, by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing the oxygen we need to breathe. But trees don’t just clean our air; their roots clean our water, sopping up toxins from the ground and locking them up in their solid trunks.

True, these beautiful, green factories don’t hire anyone, but they do something even more important: They make possible all life on earth.

Next time you take a deep breath, use some of it to thank a tree.