Bathurst people love their trees, but some might be shocked to realise just how valuable many of them are.

A worldwide standardisation process has been created to place a dollar value on individual trees and Bathurst is the proud owner of some of the most valuable trees in the nation.

Greening Bathurst's Ashley Bland said our trees are worth so much money primarily because of the historic nature of the city and the age of many of its trees.

"I reckon there would be hundreds of trees in the city that are worth more than $100,000," he said.

"If you add them all up we would have millions of dollars worth of trees in Bathurst.

"Thank God our forefathers had the foresight to leave us these beautiful trees.

n To page 2

"Now we need to think seriously about what we are leaving future generations."

The Thyer Tree Valuation is a standardised process used globally to place an individual value on trees taking into account such things as the size of a tree, its age and environmental benefit.

It is used by various levels of government and many botanical gardens around the world.

Greening Bathurst has applied the Thyer Tree Valuation to a number of trees in Bathurst with the big daddy being a beautiful elm in Durham Street they have estimated to be worth $136,000.

This tree is the biggest elm in Bathurst and is believed to be at least 80-years-old, probably older. It is 22 metres high with a circumference of 5.2 metres.

"Like any investment we should be seeking to protect it and watch it grow," Mr Bland said.

The valuation also takes into account whether the tree is an indigenous species, its health, how hard it would be to get another tree to grow on the same site and how quickly it would grow.

"If you have a stand of bamboo you could take it out and in two years time you would not notice any difference, whereas if you take out one of those big Bathurst trees it will take 50 to 100 years to grow back," Mr Bland said.

"The valuation also looks at the social benefit of a tree - whether it screens, is beautiful, provides shade, creates a sense of space.

"But if it is dangerous - it gets no points, and an ugly tree is not as valuable as one that is appealing.

"It also takes into account the economic value of the initial investment and the cost of its care and maintenance over the years," Mr Bland said.

He said although you can't put a price on nature, giving trees a monetary value might convince people there is not just an emotional need to protect them but a financial need as well.