Creating a Healthy and Resilient Future Filling Denver with Trees

By Austria Cohn

The Importance of Trees

Trees play a vital role in our cities, from filtering out air pollutants and slowing down the flow of rainfall water to supporting our urban wildlife and pollinators.

Throughout the streets and neighborhoods of Denver, some communities have little to no tree canopy cover, which is impacting their natural environment and health.

“In our cities that are filled with pavement and concrete, tree service plays a really important role in helping to shade and cool our neighborhoods,” Yuan-Farrell says. “Those neighborhoods where there’s very little tree cover get really hot. You see a 15- to 20-degree difference between a shaded street and one that doesn’t have shade cover.”

Not only is an area without trees unpleasant to look at, but the temperature difference is really significant to the point that people who live in these areas spend less time outdoors and aren’t as physically active because their environment is not welcoming, Yuan-Farrell says.

Besides the ecological benefits, there is research to support the social, mental, and physical benefits trees provide. Yuan-Farrell says viewing and interacting with natural elements helps to restore our cognitive function.

Ways to Get Involved

Our man-made society has physically altered the natural world by burning fossil fuels, deforestation, overpopulation, and other unnatural practices and materials. Yuan-Farrell mentions that children now have grown up with much more information on climate change than any other generation before.

“I have a 10-year old and an almost eight-year old. My 10-year old already feels bits and pieces of the climate anxiety that some young people and adults feel,” Yuan-Farrell says. “Kids are becoming aware of these issues, and climate change is a big daunting one that can feel overwhelming.”

According to Business Today Organization, “100 companies are responsible for 71 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, with ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron holding the top slots for investor-owned companies emitting harmful gasses.”

Planting trees and improving the quality of neighborhoods isn’t going to stop the changing climate, but it’s a step in the right direction, and it can give children and adults an outlet to take action.

If climate change is overwhelming and you’re discouraged or worried, hop online to The Park People’s website to volunteer or find other ways to get involved.