Researchers reveal overlooked cause of student struggles: '[They] seemed to bear the brunt'

Losing trees in cities might be affecting students in those areas more than experts previously expected, according to new research. 

What's happening?

According to Futurity, researchers from the University of Utah found that when nearby trees are lost to pests, disease, or development, school attendance drops and test scores suffer. This "concrete jungle" impact is hitting low-income students the hardest.

In the Chicago metro area, an invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer wiped out tens of thousands of ash trees over the last decade. 

A recent study co-authored by Alberto Garcia and Michelle Lee and published in the journal Global Environmental Change looked at how this affected students in the area. The researchers found that test scores dropped by about 1.22% in places where tree loss was highest. The decline was even more noticeable among low-income students attending schools in wealthier neighborhoods where tree cover had been lost.

"We don't think that the low-income students in unaffected areas are impacted, but the low-income students at these impacted schools seem to be affected more than better-off students at these same schools," Garcia, an economics professor and social scientist, told Futurity.

Why is tree loss impacting students?

Without trees, neighborhoods get hotter, air quality worsens, and the environment feels less inviting. Trees help cool down city playgrounds and sidewalks by providing shade. Without the shade, pavement and buildings hold on to heat, making schools in tree-sparse areas much hotter than those in greener parts of the city.

"The low-income students at wealthier schools, where infestations were more common, seemed to bear the brunt of the impacts," Garcia said, according to Futurity.

"Some possible explanations are just that those students don't have the same resources to go home and recover from, for example, extreme temperatures or pollution-induced headaches the same way that higher-income students at the same schools might have."

Extreme heat has already been linked to learning difficulties. Researchers have found that when classrooms get too hot, the heat makes it tougher to focus, and as temperatures rise, more kids end up missing school. 

Trees also help absorb harmful pollutants. That's especially important in cities with high levels of car traffic and industrial pollution.

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Research from the American Lung Association has found that, in addition to other obstacles, students have a harder time focusing and attending class regularly due to poor air quality that can lead to respiratory problems. 

In areas with fewer trees, children are exposed to more airborne pollutants, which can exacerbate asthma and other health conditions that keep them out of the classroom.

What's being done to restore tree cover?

The Our Roots Chicago program is planting thousands and thousands of trees in neighborhoods that are in need of more greenery. The initiative has been planting trees (at least 47,000) since 2022 and aims to add 75,000 total. New York City and Los Angeles are also bringing back trees to schools and public spaces. 

Groups like TreePeople and Friends of the Urban Forest in California work with local schools to add greenery and provide students much-needed shade and breathable air. The Trees Atlanta initiative has helped to restore canopy loss and improve green spaces around schools in Georgia.

As more cities recognize the link between tree cover and student success, planting and preserving trees in urban areas is becoming a key strategy for improving education outcomes.

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