Trees
Friends of the Earth say what makes trees so valuable to our environment, economy and wellbeing.
CPRE, the countryside charity says that trees are fundamental to our countryside, let alone life on earth. The CPRE has put together some fascinating facts and stats about these incredible life-giving plants. From absorbing carbon to providing homes to wildlife, trees are a crucial part of our ecosystem.
People love trees! Read about a delightful experiment some years ago in Melbourne.
"Trees are natural air-conditioners" (Eco-notice in Sanssouci Park, Potsdam)
We need trees -
Health and wellbeing
CPRE: Being in nature can have a positive impact on our health and wellbeing.
The psychological benefits of even a small dose of nature: "People who live near green space are less likely to struggle with mental health issues" says Prof Andrea Mechelli, the scientist leading a study into how the urban environment affects our wellbeing and the surprising and lasting psychological benefits of even just a small dose of nature.
Natural England’s review of the benefits and outcomes of approaches to green care for mental ill-health, summarised here + a link to the full academic review
Wellbeing secrets from the 2022 Chelsea flower show
How to cultivate wellbeing through gardening
Prescribing nature: the restorative power of a simple dose of outdoors - Being in nature, studies tell us, has significant positive effects on our mental and physical health. The health benefits of green or blue prescriptions are many and there are calls to integrate them more into routine care.
‘Better than medication’: prescribing nature works, project shows - highlighted here in The Guardian.
Flood mitigation
Should London become a 'sponge city'? A sponge city is designed to absorb rainwater to mitigate flooding by using green spaces like parks and wetlands and blue spaces like ponds and rivers to lower the amount of excess rainwater entering the sewerage system.
Woodland Trust: Trees and woods play a vital role in reducing flooding by slowing down the flow of rainwater, absorbing rainwater and reducing erosion.
See also
"Living Landscapes - making space for nature in Kingston" a panel discussion co-hosted by TTK and Kingston Environment Center back in 2012 (read the report here). The emphasis then was on creating meadows and other spaces for wild flowers, pollinators and birds, and Kingston has improved since then. These days we would probably add connectivity to the asks: as Buglife says “Imagine trying to travel around the UK without our road and rail network. Or imagine if nine out of every ten miles of road just didn’t exist – life would be impossible! That is the situation faced by our vital pollinators and other bugs..."
Natural Solutions: nature’s role in delivering well-being and delivering key policy goals... a New Economics Foundation report, 2012
The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review (2021) - the Final Report of the Independent Review on the Economics of Biodiversity led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta "calls for changes in how we think, act and measure economic success to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world. Grounded in a deep understanding of ecosystem processes and how they are affected by economic activity, the new framework presented by the Review sets out how we should account for Nature in economics and decision-making."
London Climate Resilience Review (2024) calls for “reset moment” to prepare London for more deadly floods and heatwaves.