Last updated on January 14th, 2022 at 10:40 am

Trees! An Unlikely Remedy

Trees.  Who knew?  We founded Vermont Woods Studios way back in 2005 on a mission of forest conservation.  Now we’re learning even more about the magic of trees: they’re the key to improved memory, health, wealth & happiness!  Take a leaf out of these new scientific studies that make it official:

• Trees improve memory: A research team at the University of Michigan gave people a memory test, then assigned some of them to walk through downtown and others to walk through the woods. The participants were tested again upon their return, and the group that took the nature walk scored significantly better!
• Trees treat depression & improve happiness: The same researchers at UM assessed the moods of people with major depression, then assigned some of them to walk through downtown and others to walk through the woods. After the strolls, the people who’d been through the woods showed greater improvement in “positive affect” — an emotional state typically low in depressed patients.
• Trees improve mental health:  Researchers gathered data on antidepressant prescriptions across London and paired that with data on the number of trees in the same area.  The places with higher tree densities had significantly lower prescription rates.
• Trees save your money AND your life: according to Treehugger, about 850 lives are saved each year, the number of acute respiratory symptoms is lower by about 670,000 incidents each year, and the total health care savings attributed to pollution removal by trees is around $7 billion a year.

We’ve been talking forever about how trees provide food, shelter & housing.  And how they combat pollution & global warming.  And how they provide some of the world’s most effective cancer medications.  So today,  I thought it might be fitting to bring a few newly discovered advantages of trees to light.

From all the tree huggers at Vermont Woods Studios– Here’s to your memory, health, wealth & happiness!