I am guessing most of you prefer the one with trees as opposed to the one without trees. Did you know that urban trees improve our health?
The facts are in. Researchers have shown that peoples’ health improves when trees exist where they work and live.
Which of these pictures are you drawn to?
There is a significant reduction in human mortality with trees planted in a neighborhood.
This conclusion came about from a study done over a 30-year-period in Portland, Oregon. From 1990 to 2019, the group Friends of Trees planted 49,246 street trees around Portland. (That’s between 1600 and 1700 trees planted each year for 30 years, on average. Well done team!). They also kept track of where and when each tree was planted in a particular neighborhood during the last 5, 10 or 15 years.
These neighborhoods were tied to the US Census tract and so allowed researchers to associate the tree data to the mortality rate due to cardiovascular, respiratory, or non-accidental causes.
The results show that neighborhoods where more trees were planted have lower mortality rates due to cardiovascular and general non-accidental causes. This was especially true for males and all people over age 65.
Interestingly, as trees grow taller their beneficial health influence increases. Neighborhoods with trees planted 1 – 5 years ago had a 15% drop in mortality. Neighborhoods with trees planted 10 – 15 years ago had a 30% drop in mortality! These findings suggest that older, larger trees may be associated with a greater health benefit.
Researchers don’t know exactly how trees help increase human health. But the correlation between larger trees and greater health could be due to the trees’ greater capacity to reduce pollution, temperature, and noise.
The medical expenses saved by improving the health of Portland residents far outweighs the cost of planting and maintaining the trees.
So, if you live in an urban area, I invite you to get involved in planting trees in your neighborhood by organizing a local group or actually planting and caring for the trees in your neighborhood. Check with your city to see how you can assist them in tree planting. And get out and enjoy the little bits of the natural world trees provide and know it is helping you be healthier.
Here is a link to the study the above information comes from:
Here are some links to other studies that support the conclusion that urban trees are associated with improved human health.
https://www.sciencealert.com/urban-tree-coverage-can-significantly-reduce-stress-study-finds
