Trees help make us healthy.
While trees certainly are aesthetically pleasing, urban tree planting programs are becoming essential for the public health benefits that they provide to communities.
It’s commonly known that adding trees to our cities and natural areas is vitally important for a healthy ecosystem; trees have the ability to clean our air, water, and soil; they absorb stormwater that normally would end up in our rivers; they sequester carbon and absorb other airborne pollutants, and they even have the ability to clean contaminated soil and ground water.
Trees are also important for human health. Numerous studies have also shown the relationship between trees and nature and a person’s mental and physical health. Patients in hospitals heal more quickly if they have a view of trees and nature, neighbors are more likely to get out and walk and run through tree-lined communities, babies in tree-lined neighborhoods are more likely to have a healthy birth weight, and trees are essential for a person’s mental well being.
To sum up, trees are good for you! And whether you realize it or not, trees are making you a healthier person every day.
Want to learn more about the benefits of trees?
Did you know …
- Exposure to greenspaces can be psychologically and physiologically restorative by promoting mental health, reducing blood pressure and stress levels, and by promoting physical activity.
- Having access to views of natural settings have been found to reduce crime and aggression, and improve recovery from surgery.