Hello, my name is Makayla Crenshaw. I’m a first-year student at Capilano University and studying towards my Bachelor of Design in Visual Communications. In High School, my favourite academic subjects were Biology, Psychology, and Law. Here at Capilano, I wish to minor in Psychology, but I don’t think it’s possible while I’m in the IDEA program as I have a heavy workload. My hobbies are drawing and painting, and in the future, I want to either become a Graphic Designer, Art Director, Marketer, or App Designer. I accepted to attend Capilano University because it had a program that suited my interests in art and business, and because of smaller classrooms, I could get more attention from my professors to help improve my artistic ability. My role models are my two cousins from Toronto, and they study Commerce and Law. They both worked very hard to get to where they are today, and I’m inspired to become successful in the future like they are.

 I wrote this summary for English 100 on an article about “The Importance of Urban Forests” by Amy Flemings:

In “The Importance of Urban Forests” (2016), Amy Flemings discusses how trees are essential to our ecosystem, economic benefits, and how they not only benefit our environment but also help humans by improving their mental and physical health (Flemings 2). Flemings indicates that trees not only help our ecosystem by “absorbing 150kg of carbon dioxide a year, as well as filtering air pollutants,” but they also aid in our economy through “$28m worth of energy-saving, $5m worth of air quality improvements, and $36m avoided in costs of prevention from mitigating stormwater flooding,” proving that trees are more beneficial than we know (Jones qtd. in Flemings 3). Flemings also acknowledges how trees are strategically placed; around privileged vs. underprivileged neighbourhoods and how this design affects human psychology. Richer neighbourhoods tend to be filled with numerous trees, whereas poorer neighbourhoods tend to have very little (Flemings 4). Studies claim that the effects trees have on human brains show that “in areas with more trees people have less anxiety and depression,” and that trees “improve health perception and feeling years younger,” compared to those who live in areas where trees are limited (Bird qtd. in Fleming 4). Overall, Flemings criticizes people’s lack of awareness for not acknowledging and just seeing them as “expensive ornaments” (Jones qtd. in Flemings 2). Trees are detrimental to our lives and futures, but unfortunately, they’re slowly disappearing due to our lack of care. Flemings suggests preserving the trees by getting adults to surround and raise their children around trees to learn their value.