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of heat islands. Fortunately, where we park at home and at the doctor’s office had shady spots. Walmart did not.<h2 id="a17d">What shade trees do</h2>The ER physician-in-chief at a Phoenix hospital said in a radio interview that they were seeing intense burns from people opening their car doors and touching the metal seat buckle, and worse burns if someone fell and touched the pavement with their hands.Trees can make a significant temperature differential. Trees shading parking lots can reduce the<a href="https://extension.psu.edu/green-parking-lots-mitigating-climate-change-and-the-urban-heat-island"> pavement temperature</a> by as much as 36 degrees Fahrenheit! Trees in urban areas can reduce the ambient temperature, making an otherwise hot streetscape comparatively pleasant.Trees do more than just provide shade. They take in carbon dioxide from the air and store it. That is good for the climate. They put out oxygen while also absorbing nitrogen and ozone.Trees radiate the sun’s rays to decrease the heat in the face of successive high temperatures like much of the country is having now, and, in the process, they lower our stress, our stress hormones and improve our mental and physical health.They also remove small particulate matter (think the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that recently blanketed the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.) By removing small particles from the air, trees decrease the risk of stroke, cardiac disease, lung cancer, and asthma. Trees also significantly impact soil and water by removing pollutants, improving water quality, and reducing stormwater runoff.<h2 id="57c5">From shade to forest bathing</h2>Trees offer more than just physical advantages. They give us awe, inspiration, and peace. This is especially so if we walk into the woods attuned to nature — the smells, sights, sounds, and overall feeling of nature. Turn off your podcast or music and just be present.The Japanese have a concept called Shinrin-yoku, loosely translated as “forest bathing.” It has been well-studied for its health benefits. One of many studies in Japan had 12 individuals walk into a forest one day and a city on another day in 24 different locations across Japan.The authors conclude, “<a href="https://environhealthprevmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s12199-009-0086-9">The results</a> show that forest environments promote lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than do city environments.”For 20 years, we had a cabin in Canaan Valley, high in the West Virginia mountains. Most of the area is dense forests, and there is little development. Canaan Valley has a climate somewhat similar to southern Canada, always 12° cooler than the surrounding areas at lower elevations. So, when it was 95° and humid in the Baltimore suburbs, we could drive to Canaan and consistently be in 83° temperatures for a high. We had 2–½ acres, all woods except for the cabin. In the evenings, the temperature would fall, and a breeze would c

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ome up to the mountain and in through the open windows.We rarely needed the ceiling fans. Sometimes, we even lit a small fire in the fireplace during summer. We loved it, and once we retired, we would stay for the entire summer. It was a great place to hike, commune with nature, and just be away from the hustle and bustle of life, and it was also a great place for our Los Angeles-based grandkids to come for a visit. Canaan Valley was Forest Bathing on steroids.<figure id="2cc0"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*72QTes78SvzNHkn1jR-FDA.jpeg"><figcaption>Woods — watercolor by Carol Schimpff, forest view from our apartment</figcaption></figure><a href="https://readmedium.com/trees-more-than-beautiful-3b658a3061cf">Green environments</a> have been extensively studied to demonstrate that more time in a natural setting leads to a sense of better health and better well-being. Longer-term evaluations have shown that living in a green environment is associated with less obesity, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.<h2 id="a2de">A simple solution in a warming world</h2>As I write this, it is almost 100 degrees and humid on the campus of our retirement community outside of Baltimore, Maryland. We are fortunate to have many trees on this 112-acre site. Still, it’s hot. But the temperature differential is dramatic once in the shade during a walk. Which raises the question, what can we each do to manage these hot, humid days in the future?The simple answer is to plant more trees. Shade trees.Plant them on city streets. Plant them in small “pocket parks” in the city. Plant them within suburban parking lots. Plant them along roadways. Plant them near your house. Plant them along pathways in our retirement community. In each scenario, the cost of planting is negligible, whereas the long-term benefit in reducing heat and discomfort is enormous along with addressing climate change.What if you don’t have any property or are not in a position to do your own planting? What can you do?You can donate to organizations that plant trees. You and your neighbors can advocate to government, the parking lot owners, and the businesses to plant more trees. Elected officials always listen if many people ask for the same thing, especially when it makes good common sense and valid data indicates why it will help maintain wellness. Property owners will also do so if they believe there’s a potential profit. Will it attract more customers on hot days?When is the best time to plant trees? Now. Yes, you will not benefit immediately; trees take time to grow and give shade, but it will only happen later if you plant them now. There’s an old proverb, “A society grows great when old people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”I learned a lesson as a teenager. If you go out in the hot sun on a humid day, you can quickly get sick. Yes, even a healthy youngster who wanted to earn some money could and did easily and quickly get heat exhaustion. But good shade trees plus some water made all the difference.</article></body>

A Simple Solution in a Warming World: More Shade Trees

No matter who plants them, trees can help prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke

It was 67 years ago. I was a teenager, school was out, and there was an opportunity to earn money picking strawberries for 10 cents a quart at a farm about 5 miles away. So, on a hot, humid, sunny day, I hopped on my bike, went to the farm, and started picking. I never wore a hat in those days. I wanted to earn as much as possible, so I just kept picking and picking and picking.

But by late morning, I was absolutely exhausted. The farmer told me to go over and drink from the hose, but I still just felt awful. Somehow, I got back on my bike, rode home, and collapsed for the rest of the day. My parents took me to the doctor, who said I had heat exhaustion and to take it easy for the rest of that day and the next. “But, when you go back to picking, be sure to wear a hat and get out of the sun every hour and sit under a shade tree and drink some water.”

That was good advice. It worked. The message: Even a young, healthy kid can get sick quickly working on a hot, humid, sunny day. But shade and water can help.

That combination of heat and humidity sets us up for trouble. The greater the humidity, the lower the temperature required to produce heat exhaustion and then heat stroke. And age makes a difference. An older person can become sick at a lower temperature if the humidity is high. But a kid is not immortal, despite his assumption to the contrary.

Heat islands make it worse

Earlier today, my wife and I went for a doctor’s visit. Our car was parked in the shade at home, so it was pretty cool as we left. At the doctor’s office, there were plenty of places to park in the shade, which we did. But I was surprised to watch others drive in and park in the hot sun just to be 50 feet closer to the entrance. When we returned, our car was warm but not hot. I would have hated opening the door to one of those cars sitting in the full sun.

Unfortunately, we would soon get our chance, as our next stop was Walmart. There was no tree in sight; we had no choice but to park in the hot sun. We kept our shopping to 20 minutes. Still, the car had gained a lot of heat in that short time; it was hot. The difference between parking in the shade and parking in the sun was dramatic.

Heat islands are areas where the sun shines on buildings, pavements, and other constructed objects that absorb more heat than nature, then slowly radiate it back over the day and evening. Urban areas with densely packed buildings and roadways are typical large heat islands. Suburban parking lots are as well. Both of the parking lots we visited were great examples of heat islands. Fortunately, where we park at home and at the doctor’s office had shady spots. Walmart did not.

What shade trees do

The ER physician-in-chief at a Phoenix hospital said in a radio interview that they were seeing intense burns from people opening their car doors and touching the metal seat buckle, and worse burns if someone fell and touched the pavement with their hands.

Trees can make a significant temperature differential. Trees shading parking lots can reduce the pavement temperature by as much as 36 degrees Fahrenheit! Trees in urban areas can reduce the ambient temperature, making an otherwise hot streetscape comparatively pleasant.

Trees do more than just provide shade. They take in carbon dioxide from the air and store it. That is good for the climate. They put out oxygen while also absorbing nitrogen and ozone.

Trees radiate the sun’s rays to decrease the heat in the face of successive high temperatures like much of the country is having now, and, in the process, they lower our stress, our stress hormones and improve our mental and physical health.

They also remove small particulate matter (think the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that recently blanketed the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.) By removing small particles from the air, trees decrease the risk of stroke, cardiac disease, lung cancer, and asthma. Trees also significantly impact soil and water by removing pollutants, improving water quality, and reducing stormwater runoff.

From shade to forest bathing

Trees offer more than just physical advantages. They give us awe, inspiration, and peace. This is especially so if we walk into the woods attuned to nature — the smells, sights, sounds, and overall feeling of nature. Turn off your podcast or music and just be present.

The Japanese have a concept called Shinrin-yoku, loosely translated as “forest bathing.” It has been well-studied for its health benefits. One of many studies in Japan had 12 individuals walk into a forest one day and a city on another day in 24 different locations across Japan.

The authors conclude, “The results show that forest environments promote lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than do city environments.”

For 20 years, we had a cabin in Canaan Valley, high in the West Virginia mountains. Most of the area is dense forests, and there is little development. Canaan Valley has a climate somewhat similar to southern Canada, always 12° cooler than the surrounding areas at lower elevations. So, when it was 95° and humid in the Baltimore suburbs, we could drive to Canaan and consistently be in 83° temperatures for a high. We had 2–½ acres, all woods except for the cabin. In the evenings, the temperature would fall, and a breeze would come up to the mountain and in through the open windows.

We rarely needed the ceiling fans. Sometimes, we even lit a small fire in the fireplace during summer. We loved it, and once we retired, we would stay for the entire summer. It was a great place to hike, commune with nature, and just be away from the hustle and bustle of life, and it was also a great place for our Los Angeles-based grandkids to come for a visit. Canaan Valley was Forest Bathing on steroids.

Woods — watercolor by Carol Schimpff, forest view from our apartment

Green environments have been extensively studied to demonstrate that more time in a natural setting leads to a sense of better health and better well-being. Longer-term evaluations have shown that living in a green environment is associated with less obesity, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.

A simple solution in a warming world

As I write this, it is almost 100 degrees and humid on the campus of our retirement community outside of Baltimore, Maryland. We are fortunate to have many trees on this 112-acre site. Still, it’s hot. But the temperature differential is dramatic once in the shade during a walk. Which raises the question, what can we each do to manage these hot, humid days in the future?

The simple answer is to plant more trees. Shade trees.

Plant them on city streets. Plant them in small “pocket parks” in the city. Plant them within suburban parking lots. Plant them along roadways. Plant them near your house. Plant them along pathways in our retirement community. In each scenario, the cost of planting is negligible, whereas the long-term benefit in reducing heat and discomfort is enormous along with addressing climate change.

What if you don’t have any property or are not in a position to do your own planting? What can you do?

You can donate to organizations that plant trees. You and your neighbors can advocate to government, the parking lot owners, and the businesses to plant more trees. Elected officials always listen if many people ask for the same thing, especially when it makes good common sense and valid data indicates why it will help maintain wellness. Property owners will also do so if they believe there’s a potential profit. Will it attract more customers on hot days?

When is the best time to plant trees? Now. Yes, you will not benefit immediately; trees take time to grow and give shade, but it will only happen later if you plant them now. There’s an old proverb, “A society grows great when old people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”

I learned a lesson as a teenager. If you go out in the hot sun on a humid day, you can quickly get sick. Yes, even a healthy youngster who wanted to earn some money could and did easily and quickly get heat exhaustion. But good shade trees plus some water made all the difference.