THE LEAFLET
Bike Month and Beyond
While April is focused on our dear planet and its trees, May has a slightly different focus: bikes! May is National Bike Month and to celebrate we thought we’d recognize our two-wheeled friends. Bike folks and tree folks have more in common then you think. After all:
- We’re both dedicated to a sustainable District for future generations. While we support Sustainable D.C. 2.0’s 40% tree canopy goal and local cycling advocates focus on the plans efforts to connect critical bike infrastructure, we can both get behind D.C.’s goals to become the healthiest, greenest and most livable city in the United States.
- We both enjoy a lush tree canopy – cyclists especially appreciate the shade! We’ve planted along a number of popular bike trails in the city.
- We both do not appreciate urban heat islands and work to combat them.
- We both know that locking bikes to trees is a big no no.
Not to mention we have a long and lovely history with cycling in the region. When we moved into our Brookland Headquarters we had the awesome folks at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) provided bikes valet services and we’ve offered immensely popular Tree Tours by bike.
If you’d like to do your part to keep our streets shady for everyone, consider planting a tree on your property (for little or no cost to you!), volunteer with us, or pledge to water young trees to ensure their survival. Next time you’re stopped at a light on your bike or meandering the trails, see you if you can identify any trees around you!
The above photo is courtesy of Washington Area Bicyclist Association and is from their Trail Ranger program.