Soon I will be losing a long-time friend who has kept me company for over 40 years.

My street tree, a Norway maple chosen and planted by the City of Allentown just a few years after we bought our downtown row house, is at its life’s end.

It had a hard life, as many street trees do. Its roots lifted the sidewalk and had to be chopped.

It had to endure salt from the street in the winter, dog urine (and worse) year round, and careless driving by trash haulers and drivers of other high trucks that frequently got too close and gouged or broke limbs.

Just in time for Earth Day and Arbor Day, the tree is being removed.

But its replacement, a native tree this time, will be planted within days. I made sure of that.

Almost anyone who knows me knows how much I love trees.

My favorite poem, one I have cherished and recited since childhood, is “Trees,” by Joyce Kilmer.

“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree ....”

Indeed, my funeral instructions include my wish to have that poem read at my service.

And I once silenced an eager crowd of people waiting in line to buy a lottery ticket with a jackpot of hundreds of millions.

Folks were dreaming out loud and sharing with strangers how they would spend their windfall.

When asked, I announced I would use the money to plant trees (which I really would).

Nobody said a word!

That special poem brings to mind some of the loveliest trees ever put on this earth, at least in my eyes.

When my late husband and I traveled to Mississippi and Louisiana, we were awed by huge native live oaks that were over 300 and 400 years old.

These trees can have a lifespan as long as 600 years.

The southerners cherish their precious trees and matter-of-factly cite multiple reasons for wanting to save these beneficial giants.

These people get it, while many folks here in our area seem ecologically clueless and complain about leaf “litter” or remove large patriarch trees and replace them with “feather duster” ornamentals or macadam.

With the weird effects of climate change already upon us, one of the easiest and most productive measures individuals or communities can take is to plant large trees.

They are natural windbreaks. They cool us. They can even cool tempers in our urban jungles.

Trees put moisture in the air, thus helping to regulate temperatures. One big tree with large leaves releases about 300 to 400 gallons of moisture into the air each day.

Not only do trees remove and store carbon dioxide, they also remove dust and other toxic airborne pollutants from the air we are breathing.

A single large tree produces enough oxygen to fill about 800 houses in a year.

Trees help to keep us alive.

They also prevent soil erosion and filter sediment and pollutants from our natural waterways.

Well-placed trees absorb noise and can save on energy costs by reducing our heating and cooling bills.

Trees increase property values and add beauty to our neighborhoods.

Trees help make soil when their leaves or needles or old branches fall to the ground and decay, eventually providing organic matter that builds rich soil.

They also create natural habitat and food sources for songbirds and other wildlife.

I consider trees symbols of longevity. They connect us to history.

This month, especially, remember to thank the nearby trees for all they share with us.

We literally could not live without them.