Some of the trees in New Orleans belong in their own architecture book, fairytale, or sexy calendar! They have turned me into a person who often stops in mid-transit to admire them – and not just because live oaks’ long branches seem to defy gravity but because their shade provides great relief in this heat. I’ve never been so aware of the simple kindness of tree shade. Taller cities like New York are shaded by buildings. Here short neighborhoods like the Marigny, Bywater, and Lower 9th Ward roast in the sun. Metal benches burn your butt. St Claude Avenue, the area’s commercial corridor and only street with bike lanes, feels like an oven-y highway. At Rising Tide environmental law expert Robert Verchick pointed out the importance of shade canopies in NOLA’s humid heat waves – without them the city turns into a hot box and the dangers compound when residents without air conditioning don’t open windows for fear of theft. People talk about all the trees they lost and the extreme climate it’s triggering. People also talk about all the new ones they’re planting. Thanks to my neighbors and local initiative Marigny Green, four Crepe Myrtle saplings now live on our block and bob in the breeze.