Fast Fact Library

A cost-benefit analysis based on existing green schoolyards in California compared a green schoolyard prototype with a gray schoolyard prototype. Over a 20-year period, the green schoolyard's cumulative net cost was...

Trust for Public Land and MKThink. (2022). “California Green Schoolyards: A Cost-Benefit Study.” https://www.tpl.org/sites/default/files/220511_TPL_GSY_Report_Final.pdf.

Quality pollinator habitat can be created beneath solar arrays. In an Oregon experiment, researchers found that pollinator abundance, diversity, and richness as well as pollinator-flower visitation rates were...

Graham, Maggie, Serkan Ates, Andony P. Melathopoulos, Andrew R. Molkdenke, Sandra J. DeBano, Lincoln R. Best, and Chad W. Higgins. “Partial shading by solar panels delays bloom, increases floral abundance during the late-season for pollinators in a dryland, agrivoltaic ecosystem”. Scientific Reports 11, 7452 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86756-4.

A statistical analysis of a 3D model of a Columbus, Ohio neighborhood estimated that if the neighborhood's trees were all mature, surface temperatures would be lowered by 3.48° F. 20 additional mature trees would...

Park, Yujin, Jean-Michel Guldmann, and Deshen Liu. “Impacts of Tree and Building Shades on the Urban Heat Island: Combining Remote Sensing, 3D Digital City and Spatial Regression Approaches.” Computers, Environment and Urban Systems 88 (2021): 131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2021.101655.

Greening in and around schoolyards can improve academic achievement. A study of 450 public schools in Washington state showed positive relationships between school greenness and academic achievement in sixth graders...

Kuo, Ming, Samantha E Klein, Matthew HEM Browning, and Jaime Zaplatosch. “Greening for academic achievement: Prioritizing what to plant and where.” Landscape and Urban Planning 206 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103962.

A systematic review of research on the effectiveness of nature-based solutions for addressing climate impacts showed that that of 293 interventions, 59% reduced adverse climate impacts. Overall, the studies that...

Chausson, Alexandre, Beth Turner, Dan Seddon, Nicole Chabaneix, Cécile A. J. Girardin, Valerie Kapos, Isabel Key, Dilys Roe, Alison Smith, Stephen Woroniecki, and Nathalie Seddon. “Mapping the effectiveness of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation.” Global Change Biology 26, 11 (2020): 6134-6155. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15310.

In a study of 13 French urban green spaces, visitors reported improved mental restoration in spaces where they perceived more mixing of vegetation like woodlands, shrubs, herbaceous areas, flower areas, water areas...

Meyer-Grandbastien, Alice, Françoise Burel, Emmanuelle Hellier, and Benjamin Bergerot. “A Step Towards Understanding the Relationship Between Species Diversity and Psychological Restoration of Visitors in Urban Green Spaces Using Landscape Heterogeneity.” Landscape and Urban Planning 195 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103728

An analysis of satellite data for 14,000 cities and towns in the United States showed that areas within a 10-minute walk of a park can be up to 6° F cooler than areas further away from parks.

Trust for Public Land and MKThink. (2020). The Heat Is On: With temperatures rising and quality parks too few and far between, communities of color face a dangerous disparity. https://www.tpl.org/sites/default/files/The-Heat-is-on_A-Trust-for-Public-Land_special-report.pdf.

A cross-sectional study of almost 47,000 Australian residents showed that higher percentage of tree cover within one mile of their residence was associated with lower prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and...

Thomas Astell-Burt, and Feng, Xiaoqi. “Urban green space, tree canopy and prevention of cardiometabolic diseases: a multilevel longitudinal study of 46,786 Australians.” International Journal of Epidemiology 49, Issue 3 (2020): 926–933. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz239.

Trees with small leaf size and high leaf complexity and trees with long "in leaf" periods like evergreens generally make the most effective barriers against roadside pollution and offer the most air quality benefits...

Barwise, Yendle, and Prashant Kumar. “Designing vegetation barriers for urban air pollution abatement: a practical review for appropriate plant species selection” npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 3, no. 12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-020-0115-3.