It’s a beautiful day. You take a step outside. You hear the rustling of the leaves and feel the slight brush of wind across your skin. You are surrounded by nature and the trees are making their presence known.  

They stand tall, unassuming and often go unnoticed in the background. But they are there. More than just a pretty backdrop, trees and forests play a crucial role to human’s everyday existence.

And it’s not just trees working alone. Deep within the forests is an intricate ecosystem of plants, fungi, insects and animals that interact and perform roles that are critical to everyone’s lives. They all work silently behind the scenes to ensure that living beings have fresh water to drink, air to breathe and food to eat.

Forests cover about 31 percent of the global land area, but more than half of the world’s forests are found in only five countries. They hold a significant amount of planetary biodiversity since they are home to about 80 percent of terrestrial plants and animals.

They are the silent but vital partner in providing livelihoods and food security for millions. Trees take care of people every day so take a minute to ponder, if trees had a voice, what would they say…