- Trees drastically reduce the need for air conditioning. Just three strategically placed trees can decrease utility bills by 50%.
- Trees attract customers. Shoppers spend up 12% more in shopping centers with trees and will shop longer and return more frequently.
- Trees can reduce annual storm water runoff by 2% — 7%.
- Trees reduce noise pollution by absorbing sounds.
- Urban forests support 60,000 California jobs annually.
- Trees encourage walking and cycling, which decreases car use and vehicular emissions, and helps keep people physically fit.
- Trees clean the air we breathe by absorbing carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides and other air pollutants.
- Trees and vegetation can raise property values up to 37%.
- Trees shade cars and parking lots, reducing ozone emissions from vehicles.
- Contact with nature encourages imagination and creativity and helps a child’s cognitive and intellectual development. Research shows that natural settings can reduce Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms.
- By filtering airborne pollutants, trees reduce the conditions that cause asthma and other respiratory problems.
- Trees along streets results in slower traffic and more relaxed driving behaviors.
- Green spaces in urban environments are associated with lower crime rates, as well as reduced incidents of litter and graffiti.
- Trees increase the likelihood of physical activity by more than 300%. In fact, children and youth living in greener neighborhoods have lower body mass index.
- Urban nature helps to restore the mind from mental fatigue and relax the body. Trees reduce stress by lowering levels of cortisol, a stress indicating hormone.
- Trees promote biodiversity by creating wildlife habitat.
- Shade from trees cuts extends the life of pavement to reduce street repaving and maintenance costs.
- Trees provide fresh fruits and nut to feed residents and encourage healthy diets.
- Trees provide a natural method of flood control by absorbing and slowing the flow of stormwater.
- Trees provide protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays, thereby helping to prevent skin cancer.
- Patients recovering from surgery have faster recovery rates and shorter hospital stays when they can view nature.
- Trees protect soil by absorbing, transforming and containing contaminants and reducing soil erosion.
- Trees beautify and enhance the character of neighborhoods and foster civic pride for one’s community.
- The greening of neighborhoods with trees is an effective method of revitalizing neighborhoods and creating attractive and inviting settings that encourage social interaction amongst neighbors.
- Trees are the only form of urban infrastructure that actually increase in value over time and result in a more than 300% return on investment.