Why is our work important?

Research has shown how trees provide a wide range of benefits to people, nature, climate, and environment – with woodlands often found to be more beneficial for health than other types of greenspaces.

Amongst the many benefits of trees and woodlands, they:  

People  

• Improve mental health, reducing stress levels and promoting wellbeing.  
• Act as a barrier to the visual and noise impacts of the built environment, with the complexity and diversity of woodland promoting fascination and distraction from mental discomfort.   
• Benefit physical health, with lower incidences of mortality, respiratory problems and health costs arising from air pollution in areas with a high proportion of woodland.  
• Lower incidences of obesity and heart failure in areas with a high proportion of woodland, which was not the case for other types of greenspaces. 
• Reduce harmful exposure to ultraviolet rays and heat-related illnesses.  
• Positively impact on levels of physical activity in urban areas, particularly for active travel and children’s play.  
• Benefit children’s cognitive and emotional learning through forest schools, with trees promoting a range of play-based behaviours. 
• Bring more character, attract more visits and drive higher customer expenditure in shopping areas.  
• Generally increase property values where street trees are present.  
• Provide a range of cultural and aesthetic values, including archaeological and heritage features and inspiring artists. 
• Support livestock welfare through agroforestry by providing shelter.  

Nature, climate and environment 

• Support nature, with mature woodland and woodland remnants on farms shown to be particularly important for biodiversity.  
• Benefit pollinators and natural predators in arable farms. 
• Benefit aquatic biodiversity by reducing river temperatures. 
• Lower the risks of surface water flooding and runoff in urban and rural areas, helping to prevent flooding and improve water quality.  
• Improve soil health by reducing soil erosion and compaction. 
• Sequester substantial amounts of carbon in biomass and soils, and in urban trees. 
• Reduce urban air pollution by absorbing gases, capturing particulates and altering ambient airflow. 
• Mitigate the urban heat island effect. 
• Reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling buildings by providing shade, reducing wind exposure, and through the cooling effects of water evaporation. 

You can read our full review of the benefits of trees and woodlands for people, climate and environment here.