A historian, Jill Jones, described the skyline of Manhattan’s upper Fifth Avenue as “a beautiful shadow cathedral.” Slippery elm trees spread out their branches for a safe distance to cover the scorching sun, forming the main body of the cathedral. Jones later wrote that these trees had died of various diseases. Not only that, construction projects also pose a similar threat to these disaster relief trees.
In less than a week, the “Big Tree Project” to save these trees was established, with 16,000 members worldwide. The new urban agenda will be announced at the United Nations meeting to address the challenges faced by the world’s rapidly growing urban population, which currently accounts for more than half of the world’s population. Jones continued: “Municipal officials used to consider trees to be expensive decorations, but now they realize their value because they absorb so much carbon dioxide and reduce the demand for air conditioners and heaters.”
According to the survey, planting large numbers of trees in New York City parks can save the park $120 per year. Saved 28 million U.S. dollars in energy, improved 5 million U.S. dollars in air quality and avoided 36 million U.S. dollars in cost to alleviate rain flooding. In addition, the size of the canopy is estimated using a program called i-tree. Jones also pointed out that trees are vital to the economic well-being of a country. He pointed out that rich communities have many trees, while poor communities have far fewer. Trees can also help us stay healthy by reducing cortisol levels, which means we are less stressed.
According to Bird, people are more likely to go to areas with more trees because they are thinner. So less stress equals more activity. Therefore, humans are drawn to areas with more trees. According to a study, women who live near trees have less mental fatigue and violent tendencies. Marc German used data from the national health system to show that planting 10 more trees per plot can improve the perception of health as if someone made a lot of money in a short time or as if someone were 7 years younger.
Rich Mitchell compared declining income and exposure to green space in England and found that health inequality associated with income deprivation is lower in all-cause mortality and mortality from circulatory disease in the areas greener. According to Bird and Jones, children who are not exposed to nature grow up without experiencing nature. If they have no experience, they will have nothing to pass on and they will disrespect nature.