 Can you ever remember getting into a bad mood when you were walking in the woods? Well, increasingly researchers are finding that taking a walk in the woods, or even looking out a window at trees, significantly improves our mood. I bet you already knew that at some level – and now there is hard, scientific evidence to support your gut feeling. Doesn’t that feel good? In the Dec, 2019 issue of The Journal of Positive Psychology researchers reported that even five minutes in nature enhanced participants’ mood and sense of well-being. In the Winter, 2019 issue of Audubon, several well-respected psychologists report that “contact with nature benefits our mood, our psychological well-being, our mental health, and our cognitive functioning.” Another big benefit: Researchers have found that children diagnosed with ADHD have milder symptoms when they regularly play in green play settings. Add to that all the ecological and economic benefits we know that an urban forest can provide, and it is a no-brainer: We need more trees in Asheville, and we need to have this urban forest managed so that we can all derive the ecological, economic and psychological benefits that research tells us is available from urban forests. By implementing the Comprehensive Urban Forest Master Plan, Asheville’s City Council could make all these benefits available to ALL Asheville residents at no additional cost. So get out there and hug a tree. You will feel better! Cathy Walsh, Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society Chair, External Relations and Advocacy, Tree Protection Task Force
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“I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.” Joyce Kilmer Incredible Climbing Tree Beaver Lake ~ Bird Sanctuary by Anita Adams of NC Trees Photography Trees are lovely, and beyond their aesthetic virtue, the important role trees play in our environment as bulwarks against the ravages of climate change are well known and documented. But let us talk about something less recognized, yet equally important: birds. Birds, you say? It's quite simple: Birds need trees, and trees need birds for seed dispersal and reforestation. Birds perch in trees, nest in trees, roost in trees and eat the insects that live in and on trees. One of my earliest memories is taking naps under the two oak trees in our front yard, waking up to the song of the birds around us. Thus began my love of birds – a love shared by millions of birdwatchers in the U.S., and locally by members of the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society.
The relationship between birds and trees is yet another measure available to us in assessing the role our urban tree canopy plays in our environment and in our society. We need to recognize this tremendous asset and the need to protect it by providing a guardian and a plan for this treasure that Asheville is so fortunate to have. I encourage you to share your memories of what trees and birds meant to you as a means of demonstrating the need for an urban forester to manage an urban forest master plan for Asheville. Share your thoughts. Cathy Walsh, Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society Chair, External Relations and Advocacy, Tree Protection Task Force
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AuthorsBlog authors include GreenWorks staff and members of the Tree Protection Task Force. Archives
May 2020
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