Fast Fact Library

Filters

Green schoolyards can reduce stress, promote resilience, build competence, and promote focusing in students aged 6-18, as shown by this ethnographic study in Maryland and Colorado. The green schoolyards included a...

Chawla, Louise, Kelly Keena, Illène Pevec, and Emily Stanley. (2014). Green schoolyards as havens from stress and resources for resilience in childhood and adolescence. Health & place, 28, 1-13.

In a study of 427 children aged 10-11 in Bristol, UK, children who spent more time outdoors after school were more likely to be physically active. For every hour spent outside playing with friends, the children...

Pearce, Matthew, Angie S. Page, Tom P. Griffin, and Ashley R. Cooper. (2014) Who children spend time with after school: Associations with objectively recorded indoor and outdoor physical activity. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 11(1). 45. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-11-45

A 5-year longitudinal study in Great Britain found that moving to a greener area not only improves people's mental health, but that the effect is sustained for a long time. Individuals who moved to greener areas had...

Alcock, Ian, Mathew P. White, Benedict W. Wheeler, Lora E. Fleming, and Michael H. Depledge. (2014). Longitudinal effects on mental health of moving to greener and less green urban areas. Environmental Science & Technology, 48(2), 1247-1255.

An extensive visual preference study conducted with 274 Australian office workers found that any green roof is preferred over a concrete roof and taller, flowering, and/or grassy vegetation is preferred over lower...

Lee, Kate E., Kathryn J. H. Williams, Leisa D. Sargent, Claire Farrell, and Nicholas S. Williams. (2014). Living roof preference is influenced by plant characteristics and diversity. Landscape and Urban Planning, 122, 152-159.

The greening of three middle school schoolyards in Austria reduced students’ physiological stress levels and enhanced their psychological well-being. Students perceived the schoolyard to be more restorative...

Kelz, Christina, Gary W. Evans, and Kathrin Röderer. (2013). The restorative effects of redesigning the schoolyard: A multi-methodological, quasi-experimental study in rural Austrian middle schools. Environment and Behavior, 47(2), 119-139.

According to a 2013 study of lawns in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, low-density plantings of trees on irrigated lawns can significantly reduce turfgrass evapotranspiration through partial shading and serve as a...

Litvak, Elizaveta, Neeta S. Bijoor, and Diane E. Pataki. (November 2013). Adding trees to irrigated turfgrass lawns may be a water-saving measure in semi-arid environments. Ecohydrology 7(5): 1314-1330. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1458

People place more value on the future after exposure to nature. The results of three studies—two laboratory experiments and a field study—reveal future discount rates 10-16% lower after nature exposure than after...

van der Wal, Arianne J., Hannah M. Schade, Lydia Krabbendam, and Mark van Vugt. (2013). Do natural landscapes reduce future discounting in humans? Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences, 280(1773). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2295

Bird abundance in England was studied on and around green walls versus bare control walls to determine habitat value. Birds used the upper half of green walls for nesting, food, and shelter, but were never found on...

Chiquet, Caroline, John W. Dover, and Paul Mitchell. (2013). Birds and the urban environment: the value of green walls. Urban Ecosystems, 16(3), 453-462.

Sunflowers removed more lead and copper from the soil than amaranth and Indian mustard in this Malaysian study. Sunflowers also removed significantly more lead (50-54%) and copper (34-34%) from contaminated...

Rahman, Motior M., Sofian M. Azirun, and Amru N. Boyce. (2013). Enhanced accumulation of copper and lead in amaranth (Amaranthus paniculatus), Indian mustard (Brassica Juncea) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus). PLOS ONE 8(5): e62941. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062941

Protecting undeveloped land within floodplains significantly reduces property damage caused by flooding events, as shown by an eleven-year nationwide study of 450 communities. Communities protecting open space under...

Brody, Samuel D., and Wesley E. Highfield. (2013). Open space protection and flood mitigation: A national study. Land Use Policy, 32, 89-95.

Fast Fact Library

Filter Fast Fact Library