Community & Health Benefits of Urban Trees
College Park residents may be unaware of the numerous benefits they receive from living in a city that is designated a Tree City U.S.A. by the Arbor Day Foundation. Urban tree benefits that positively impact College Park residents’ and visitors’ health and safety include: Trees act like air filters by absorbing carbon dioxide and other airborne pollutants and particulates thereby contributing to cleaner air.
- Tree canopy coverage can help to lower blood pressure, and has been reported in various studies to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress.
- Trees can contribute to improved cognitive function.
- Trees emit natural protection substances called phytoncides into the atmosphere that can help improve the human immune system.
- Forested buffers along highways like the Beltway can potentially reduce noise.
- Tree-lined streets can be 7 to 9 degrees cooler than non-tree-lined streets, which can reduce the urban heat island effect. Lower temperatures during summer heat waves can reduce the probability of heat-related illnesses.
- Tree-lined streets can help to reduce traffic speeds by visually appearing to narrow the width of the street, thus reducing the potential for higher-speed accidents. Street trees also provide a visual barrier between vehicles on the street and pedestrians on the sidewalk and may help to reduce vehicular accidents with pedestrians.
- Trees can help to reduce flooding by intercepting rainfall and absorbing rainwater that reaches the ground. Tree roots also stabilize the soil, which reduces soil erosion and improves water quality.
Older trees potentially provide more benefits than younger trees. An older tree’s canopy is usually larger and provides more shade than a younger tree with a smaller canopy. Older trees can potentially provide more environmental services by carbon sequestration as Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the tree to generate its food and energy through the process of photosynthesis. As trees grow, they store carbon by developing wood, and when they die some of the carbon is stored in the soil in the remaining roots and their decomposition.
How can the residents of College Park assist to increase the canopy in the city, to help ensure that future residents have access to the health benefits of trees?
- Maintain trees by having an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist inspect mature trees in your yard. Dead and/or damaged limbs may require pruning or removal for the safety of people or structures below. Occasionally, trees may benefit from supplemental treatments to help relieve soil compaction or provide additional nutrients that may be lacking.
- Contact the city to request a street tree planting in the right-of-way area, which includes the grass strip between the curb and sidewalk, or to report any maintenance issue related to trees maintained by the city. Please use this link to request a street tree or maintenance issue: www.collegeparkmd.gov/TreeRequest
- Take advantage of the Tree Canopy Enhancement Program (TCEP). College Park property owners can apply for reimbursement of up to $150.00 annually, for approved tree(s) planted on their residential lot: www.collegeparkmd.gov/TCEPApp
- Use the coupon offered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resource when purchasing a tree at participating nurseries: https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/treemendous/default.aspx
With resident participation, College Park property owners will be able to continue enjoying the numerous health benefits trees provide and be proud to live in a designated Tree City U.S.A.
From the City's Tree and Landscape Board