Take a look outside.

What do you see? Maybe you see the season’s last snowflakes softly glistening on tree branches. Or perhaps you see trees reawakening after a long winter, flowers blossoming and leaf buds unfurling. Or, maybe you see buildings, houses or sidewalks reflecting a sun glare characteristic of concrete jungles.  

Whether you realize it or not, the presence of trees, or lack there of, in your everyday life has a profound impact on your physical and mental wellbeing. And, while we can’t see many of their incredible healing activities, we can feel them.

Trees act as natural air filters — like the lungs of the Earth — absorbing pollutants and releasing essential oxygen. Every year, trees in the U.S. remove 17.4 million tons of pollutants from the air. Critically, trees can also remove the fine particulate matter — pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels, among other sources — that can lead to, or exacerbate, respiratory and cardiovascular disease. A 2022 study by the U.S. Forest Service found that one premature death can be avoided for every 100 trees planted, while its earlier research showed that the country’s trees saved 850 lives and prevented 670,000 cases of acute respiratory symptoms per year. Additionally, studies show that trees also positively impact mood, improve focus, and reduce stress. 

Infographic of benefits of trees for physical and mental health

However, many communities across the United States don’t have equal access to trees, and as a result, lack the health benefits they provide. In fact, historically disinvested neighborhoods, including low-income communities and communities of color, tend to have 25-30% less tree cover.

Altgeld Gardens, a neighborhood in Chicago’s far South Side that includes public housing complexes, is in a census block with a Tree Equity Score of 53, flagging it as the highest priority need for increased tree cover.

American Forests' Tree Equity Score tool shows a map of Altgeld Gardens, the community where Adella Bass lives, while depicting the disparities in tree cover across the wider Chicago area.

Adella Bass has lived her entire life in Altgeld Gardens on Chicago’s far South Side. Living in a community burdened by industrial pollution, Bass and other Altgeld Gardens residents have experienced firsthand the need for the life-saving benefits that trees provide. Altgeld Gardens is an area with disproportionately low tree canopy cover — a reality that compounds the effects of the pollution they already face — the same reality faced by many communities across the country. 

“We have cancer — a lot of cancer. We have cardiovascular issues; there are breathing issues like asthma and [chronic obtrusive pulmonary disease]. We have diabetes due to the lack of healthy food options. Those are the big ones,” explains Bass, detailing the range of ailments that plague her community.  

Their struggle is familiar to Bass, who serves as the health equity director for People for Community Recovery, a local grassroots organization focused on enhancing the quality of life of residents living in communities affected by environmental pollution. 

And as someone who suffers from heart failure herself, Bass experiences the acute impacts on a personal level, too. “In order for us to heal, we also have to heal the Earth,” she says. And one critical way to do that is by planting more trees. 

Adella Bass, health equity director for People for Community Recovery, has lived in Altgeld Gardens on the far South Side of Chicago all her life. Residing in a low Tree Equity Score neighborhood, she has seen first-hand the disparities between tree canopy cover in neighborhoods throughout the city and how it impacts residents, particularly when it comes to suffering the impacts of extreme heat.

Every day Adella Bass, who suffers from heart failure, lives the reality of the lack of health benefits experienced by her neighborhood of Altgeld Gardens due to a lack of urban tree canopy.
Photo Credit: Carlos Javier Ortiz

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A vital resource protecting a vital organ 

Trees carry immense benefits that impact the health of one of our most vital organs: our heart. They can lower blood pressure, boost immune function, and decrease the risk of heart disease. 

American Forests recently teamed up with the American Heart Association to raise awareness about the connection between trees and the health of our cardiovascular systems. The American Heart Association joins an established network of other leading organizations across the U.S. who are advocating for adequate tree cover in every community so that all individuals have access to the health-boosting benefits of trees. 

“The connection between urban tree canopy and heart health is undeniable,” Pamela Garmon Johnson, a senior vice president at the American Heart Association, explains. “This alliance helps to advance our mission to create healthier communities by addressing a key social determinant of health — access to green spaces.”     

Recent research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has shown that living in green spaces, among trees, can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and can lower rates of hypertension. Access to green spaces can encourage cardiovascular-boosting outdoor activities like walking, gardening or running. 

“Increasing tree canopy provides a critical resource that benefits heart health and can save lives, particularly in urban communities,” explains Benita Hussain, American Forests’ chief program officer for Tree Equity. “Working with the American Heart Association gives us a platform to reinforce the tie between trees and heart health and is a significant step toward creating a healthier future for all.”   

On average, low-income communities have 38% less tree cover than wealthier ones, while communities with a majority of people of color have 26% less tree cover than majority-white neighborhoods, as clearly seen here in Google Earth aerial comparison images of the North Kenwood neighborhood in Chicago (left) and Altgeld Gardens on the far South Side (right).

Google Earth aerial comparison images of the North Kenwood neighborhood in Chicago (left) and Altgeld Gardens on the far South Side (right) show the stark contrast in tree cover between neighborhoods.
Photo Credit: Google Earth

On average, low-income communities have 38% less tree cover than wealthier ones, while communities with a majority of people of color have 26% less tree cover than majority-white neighborhoods.

On average, historically disinvested neighborhoods, including low-income communities and communities of color, tend to have 25-30% less tree cover.
Photo Credit: Google Earth

Healthy, tree-filled communities for all 

Bass is aware of the vast benefits of trees for her community — and beyond. But neighborhoods like hers — low-income with a majority of people of color — have significantly less tree cover than wealthier, majority-white neighborhoods. That’s why she’s working with the city to help ensure trees are planted in the places and within the communities that need them most. Through People for Community Recovery, she became a Tree Ambassador, a City of Chicago program executed in collaboration with Morton Arboretum, to do just that. Ambassadors are trained to scout locations for new trees and help to make sure they get in the ground — and begin providing benefits to the community.  

Bass is also aware that her understanding about trees’ value isn’t particularly widespread. As part of the Tree Ambassador program, she will also soon lead workshops for community members at the Chicago Public Library. She hopes her fellow residents will come to see the possibilities that are available to them and get involved to make those opportunities a reality. 

American Forests is also committed to raising awareness about the critical need for tree canopy and helping to bring that expanded tree cover to cities across the country. All individuals, no matter where they live, deserve to look out their windows and see trees. And they deserve to enjoy the incredible health benefits they provide, too.   

This Earth Month, if you believe every breath counts, then you believe every tree matters. Every community that relies on those trees matters, too. Don’t hold your breath, join us in protecting the lungs of the Earth and the lungs — and hearts — of our communities. 

Breathe easy. We’ve got a plan.
This Earth Month, learn how, together, we can help provide the life-saving benefits of trees to those who need them most.
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