Victoria Park Benefits
In terms of ecosystem goods and services, Victoria Park provides both material benefits and non-material benefits. The material value of the park mainly consists large amounts of trees, grass, bushes and small animals. Whereas the non-material values are mostly the recreational advantage and constant regulating services like air regulation. Chiefly, Victoria Park offers provisioning services. During my walk-through in Victoria Park, I was astounded by its vegetation coverage even in January. In the park, I saw trees with their newly sprouted leaves on the twigs. Although I am not an expert in botany, I could still see that the tree species began to grow leaves and would soon begin to provide canopies. I saw massive amounts of tree branches
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and twigs on the top of tree trunks, which would likely to produce canopies in the following months. Leaves and canopies are temporary resources that appear in a year except in winter. In terms of resources, logs from the trees are raw materials for many products like wooden furniture. Leaves, on the other hand, can be dried up to make leaf bookmark. The fruits that trees provide later in the year is another valuable resource, that people can make good use of them by harvesting the fruits either to sell on the market or to eat. Also, there were few conifer bushes thriving in the park. Personally, I think they can provide some conifer samples to the people who are specialized in researching such plants. Figure 3: Plants in Victoria Park. Photographed by Yijun Zhao.
The cultural service that Victoria Park provides is also valuable to the people in the city.
One of the benefits from trees is that areas where massive trees are located are likely to be more culturally and economically valuable. A canopy research discovers that “Where a canopy of trees exists, apartments and offices rent more quickly and have a higher occupancy rate; workers report more productivity and less absenteeism.” (canopy research, n.d.). From this, the benefit of trees is clear, that the presence of trees leads to the increase in the productivities of the workers; therefore, the trees serve as an indirect boosting factor that provides economical value to the companies located near the park. Furthermore, the canopies from the trees provide shades for people. Shades are usually useful in providing shelter from the torrid sun in summer. In addition, trees and tree shade are responsible for recreational values, that “Trees provide inviting and cool areas for recreation and relaxation such as playgrounds and parks” (canopy research, n.d.). Clearly, Victoria Park is one of the parks that people gather and enjoy themselves by walking around the trees and feeling the nature. When I came to investigate Victoria Park during the winter, I saw people enjoying themselves by walking in the park. Even the trees were not fully covered by beautiful leaves, people still enjoyed the park. Therefore, Victoria Park provides people with a good image of natural resort by presenting cultural values from the aspect of
trees. On the other hand, the park as a whole can be seen as part of the urban forest, and the presence of urban forest is likely to reduce mental pressure. Mainly from the psychological perspective, urban trees help relieve pressure: “nature has been found to be able to calm people, decrease irritability and enhance mental functioning” (Buckman, 2015). Buckman’s argument states that the urban trees themselves relieve pressures. Above that, the introduction of urban forest is likely to reduce the potential motivation of crime caused by certain mental pressures like poverty, inequality, and stress due to overcrowded people. (Buckman, 2015) Because Victoria Park features typical components of urban forest, it is possible to provide people with the pleasure of nature, and indirectly reduce people’s mental pressure. Therefore, the park offers cultural services by providing people with good sense of nature. One of the major regulating services that Victoria Park has is the temperature regulation. Since regulating service is an indirect ecosystem service, many people do not realize its function. However, the presence of temperature is constantly provided thanks to the plants in the park. When I did my investigation in the park, I noticed that the trees kept lots of twigs and branches at the top of the trunk, even though leaves were not fully grown by the time. The canopies would gradually develop in spring. Despite the fact that shades produced by canopies can prevent sunburn, canopies are likely to control the temperature in urban areas, as “Trees, which provide shade and act as natural air conditioners, play an important role in helping to create cities that are more resilient to extreme temperatures as the climate warms” (Brown, 2014). This excerpt states the function that canopies are able to regulate temperature in an automatic way, and they are effective especially in summer. Since global warming has become a trend over the past years, and urban areas encompassed by buildings and automobiles are the severest victims of temperature rising, the canopies never come futile in relieving such situation. Victoria Park is a natural temperature regulator right in the middle of urban areas, no doubt it provides temperature regulation for the city. Air regulation is another benefit that Victoria Park provides for people in the city. Especially in the city scarce in massive vegetation coverage, parks and urban forest appear to be significantly crucial in their role of cleaning the air. “Trees in U.S. cities remove about 215,000 tons of PM10 per year” (Nowak & Heisler, 2010). Here, both authors state that the air filtration function of trees significantly helps to reduce pollutant in the air on an astonishing scale. The statistics “215,000 tons” here is no doubt the solid evidence of tree filtration effectiveness. Despite the abilities that urban forest filter chemicals and pollutants in the city, they also convert carbon dioxide to oxygen through the process of photosynthesis, which is a crucial way to slow down global warming on a larger extent. Therefore, the plants in Victoria Park plays an indispensable role in controlling extreme temperature and improving air quality. The land in Victoria Park seemed to harbor burrows as I went to the park. I assume that these burrows are not for newly planted trees, but are homes to animals. Because it is still in winter, not many animals are active. However, it is not the crevice in the concrete that animals prefer to stay during the winter, but the soil in the park. For example, earthworm lives underneath the soil, and the habitat system that Victoria Park provides has allowed organisms like earthworms to interact with each other in order to make everything in order. Kingwell says: “They improve aeration and drainage, transport lower soil to the surface, mix and granulate the soil by dragging it into their burrows, undecomposed organic material” (Kingwell, 1981). The author here provides several points about the advantage of the earthworms, that their presence in the soil is likely to create a positive impact on the soil and to the ecosystem as a whole. Because earthworms are likely to renew the soil by granulating and dragging the soil, they are critical for the survival of other species in a way of regulating nutrients in the soil. Despite that, organisms like earthworms support the survival of other organisms like birds, by being preyed and consumed. Combined with my personal experience when investigation the park, I did feel the soil in the park is slightly looser. But without digging the turf, there was no way to tell if it was the results of earthworms or other organisms. In terms of benefits, habitat service in Victoria Park provides only indirect advantages. Since there is no major change among the species in the park, the effect of habitat service cannot be seen unless the disruption of the food chain and the withering of plants take place. Therefore, the benefit that the habitat service provides is the critical maintenance of species survival. Despite the plants in the park, the soil serves as one source of habitat service. Since soil contains organic matter, it nourishes microorganism. Nature Safe research center states that: “Once the nutrients are available, soil organism’s aid in a process known as mineralization, which is where nutrients are broken down and returned to their mineral forms. This allows the plant to take in the nutrients as needed” (Nature Safe, 2016). This excerpt shows the importance of soil to the plants in general. Minerals and nutrition are profusely available in the soil, and it is the presence of the soil that makes plants alive. Victoria Park holds a large pool of soil that provides minerals and nutrition necessary for vegetations to survive. The importance of soil is so critical that it forms the very basis of the micro-ecosystem in the park because the survival of all plants depends on the soil. Without the soil, plants die in lack of nutrient, and species depend on plants and soil no longer survive. Therefore, the soil is one of the necessary resources that the park provides. Figure 4: Victoria Park as an urban forest. By Photo Center Credit. Source: https://explore150.tigweb.org/en/victoria-park-halifax
Recommendation
As far as I see, the government should plant more evergreen trees in the park. The reason that I recommend doing this is that most of the tree species in the park are deciduous, and when winter comes, the leaves fall. The grass turns yellow as well, making the park look barren. However, people especially those who live around the center of the city go to the park all year round even in winter, and it may not look as vibrant as a park to them when the greenish components of the park fade away. Concerning the weather here in Halifax is cold and mostly snowy, adding evergreen trees will be somewhat helpful by cheering up the mood. Evergreen trees like pine trees have needle-like leaves that are covered in waxy substance to prevent loss of water in order to survive from wind and drought. (Norris, n.d.) Since evergreen trees do not drop too many leaves during the extreme weather, they can be used to embellish the park and the city during the winter. In terms of cultural value, the introduction of the evergreen trees is likely to stand out when other tree leaves are gone during the winter. The presence of the evergreen trees can increase the cultural recognition of the park by attracting more people to the park where evergreen trees are located. Therefore, I recommend planting more evergreen trees to make Victoria Park a better place to go even during the winter.
and twigs on the top of tree trunks, which would likely to produce canopies in the following months. Leaves and canopies are temporary resources that appear in a year except in winter. In terms of resources, logs from the trees are raw materials for many products like wooden furniture. Leaves, on the other hand, can be dried up to make leaf bookmark. The fruits that trees provide later in the year is another valuable resource, that people can make good use of them by harvesting the fruits either to sell on the market or to eat. Also, there were few conifer bushes thriving in the park. Personally, I think they can provide some conifer samples to the people who are specialized in researching such plants. Figure 3: Plants in Victoria Park. Photographed by Yijun Zhao.
The cultural service that Victoria Park provides is also valuable to the people in the city.
One of the benefits from trees is that areas where massive trees are located are likely to be more culturally and economically valuable. A canopy research discovers that “Where a canopy of trees exists, apartments and offices rent more quickly and have a higher occupancy rate; workers report more productivity and less absenteeism.” (canopy research, n.d.). From this, the benefit of trees is clear, that the presence of trees leads to the increase in the productivities of the workers; therefore, the trees serve as an indirect boosting factor that provides economical value to the companies located near the park. Furthermore, the canopies from the trees provide shades for people. Shades are usually useful in providing shelter from the torrid sun in summer. In addition, trees and tree shade are responsible for recreational values, that “Trees provide inviting and cool areas for recreation and relaxation such as playgrounds and parks” (canopy research, n.d.). Clearly, Victoria Park is one of the parks that people gather and enjoy themselves by walking around the trees and feeling the nature. When I came to investigate Victoria Park during the winter, I saw people enjoying themselves by walking in the park. Even the trees were not fully covered by beautiful leaves, people still enjoyed the park. Therefore, Victoria Park provides people with a good image of natural resort by presenting cultural values from the aspect of
trees. On the other hand, the park as a whole can be seen as part of the urban forest, and the presence of urban forest is likely to reduce mental pressure. Mainly from the psychological perspective, urban trees help relieve pressure: “nature has been found to be able to calm people, decrease irritability and enhance mental functioning” (Buckman, 2015). Buckman’s argument states that the urban trees themselves relieve pressures. Above that, the introduction of urban forest is likely to reduce the potential motivation of crime caused by certain mental pressures like poverty, inequality, and stress due to overcrowded people. (Buckman, 2015) Because Victoria Park features typical components of urban forest, it is possible to provide people with the pleasure of nature, and indirectly reduce people’s mental pressure. Therefore, the park offers cultural services by providing people with good sense of nature. One of the major regulating services that Victoria Park has is the temperature regulation. Since regulating service is an indirect ecosystem service, many people do not realize its function. However, the presence of temperature is constantly provided thanks to the plants in the park. When I did my investigation in the park, I noticed that the trees kept lots of twigs and branches at the top of the trunk, even though leaves were not fully grown by the time. The canopies would gradually develop in spring. Despite the fact that shades produced by canopies can prevent sunburn, canopies are likely to control the temperature in urban areas, as “Trees, which provide shade and act as natural air conditioners, play an important role in helping to create cities that are more resilient to extreme temperatures as the climate warms” (Brown, 2014). This excerpt states the function that canopies are able to regulate temperature in an automatic way, and they are effective especially in summer. Since global warming has become a trend over the past years, and urban areas encompassed by buildings and automobiles are the severest victims of temperature rising, the canopies never come futile in relieving such situation. Victoria Park is a natural temperature regulator right in the middle of urban areas, no doubt it provides temperature regulation for the city. Air regulation is another benefit that Victoria Park provides for people in the city. Especially in the city scarce in massive vegetation coverage, parks and urban forest appear to be significantly crucial in their role of cleaning the air. “Trees in U.S. cities remove about 215,000 tons of PM10 per year” (Nowak & Heisler, 2010). Here, both authors state that the air filtration function of trees significantly helps to reduce pollutant in the air on an astonishing scale. The statistics “215,000 tons” here is no doubt the solid evidence of tree filtration effectiveness. Despite the abilities that urban forest filter chemicals and pollutants in the city, they also convert carbon dioxide to oxygen through the process of photosynthesis, which is a crucial way to slow down global warming on a larger extent. Therefore, the plants in Victoria Park plays an indispensable role in controlling extreme temperature and improving air quality. The land in Victoria Park seemed to harbor burrows as I went to the park. I assume that these burrows are not for newly planted trees, but are homes to animals. Because it is still in winter, not many animals are active. However, it is not the crevice in the concrete that animals prefer to stay during the winter, but the soil in the park. For example, earthworm lives underneath the soil, and the habitat system that Victoria Park provides has allowed organisms like earthworms to interact with each other in order to make everything in order. Kingwell says: “They improve aeration and drainage, transport lower soil to the surface, mix and granulate the soil by dragging it into their burrows, undecomposed organic material” (Kingwell, 1981). The author here provides several points about the advantage of the earthworms, that their presence in the soil is likely to create a positive impact on the soil and to the ecosystem as a whole. Because earthworms are likely to renew the soil by granulating and dragging the soil, they are critical for the survival of other species in a way of regulating nutrients in the soil. Despite that, organisms like earthworms support the survival of other organisms like birds, by being preyed and consumed. Combined with my personal experience when investigation the park, I did feel the soil in the park is slightly looser. But without digging the turf, there was no way to tell if it was the results of earthworms or other organisms. In terms of benefits, habitat service in Victoria Park provides only indirect advantages. Since there is no major change among the species in the park, the effect of habitat service cannot be seen unless the disruption of the food chain and the withering of plants take place. Therefore, the benefit that the habitat service provides is the critical maintenance of species survival. Despite the plants in the park, the soil serves as one source of habitat service. Since soil contains organic matter, it nourishes microorganism. Nature Safe research center states that: “Once the nutrients are available, soil organism’s aid in a process known as mineralization, which is where nutrients are broken down and returned to their mineral forms. This allows the plant to take in the nutrients as needed” (Nature Safe, 2016). This excerpt shows the importance of soil to the plants in general. Minerals and nutrition are profusely available in the soil, and it is the presence of the soil that makes plants alive. Victoria Park holds a large pool of soil that provides minerals and nutrition necessary for vegetations to survive. The importance of soil is so critical that it forms the very basis of the micro-ecosystem in the park because the survival of all plants depends on the soil. Without the soil, plants die in lack of nutrient, and species depend on plants and soil no longer survive. Therefore, the soil is one of the necessary resources that the park provides. Figure 4: Victoria Park as an urban forest. By Photo Center Credit. Source: https://explore150.tigweb.org/en/victoria-park-halifax
Recommendation
As far as I see, the government should plant more evergreen trees in the park. The reason that I recommend doing this is that most of the tree species in the park are deciduous, and when winter comes, the leaves fall. The grass turns yellow as well, making the park look barren. However, people especially those who live around the center of the city go to the park all year round even in winter, and it may not look as vibrant as a park to them when the greenish components of the park fade away. Concerning the weather here in Halifax is cold and mostly snowy, adding evergreen trees will be somewhat helpful by cheering up the mood. Evergreen trees like pine trees have needle-like leaves that are covered in waxy substance to prevent loss of water in order to survive from wind and drought. (Norris, n.d.) Since evergreen trees do not drop too many leaves during the extreme weather, they can be used to embellish the park and the city during the winter. In terms of cultural value, the introduction of the evergreen trees is likely to stand out when other tree leaves are gone during the winter. The presence of the evergreen trees can increase the cultural recognition of the park by attracting more people to the park where evergreen trees are located. Therefore, I recommend planting more evergreen trees to make Victoria Park a better place to go even during the winter.