Weather, infestations and development are destroying Nashville’s trees just as we need nature to relax us more than ever.

Despite more than 30 years of studying, planting and caring for trees, I still delight in spring and the sense of renewal it brings each year. But this year feels different.

How many times have you heard someone say, “This is the prettiest spring I can remember”? Perhaps it is us, not spring, that has changed.

This year, spring coincided with the unprecedented order to stay at home, upending life as we know it. Overnight, the pace of life slowed and our horizons receded. We spent time looking out our windows, exploring our yards, and strolling up and down our streets. We noticed the cherry and dogwood blossoms and the daily changes in leaf emergence. It was the prettiest spring we could remember.

The benefit of nature

Before social distancing, we went outside for a run or a walk, raising our heartbeat to maximize calories burned in the precious few minutes we carved out for exercise.

Today, a hike in the park or a walk through our neighborhood is a welcome escape from the confines of our homes and screens. It’s an opportunity to say hello to our neighbors; it’s a living classroom for displaced students; and it’s a time to quiet the mind and find a much needed moment of peace.

There is a growing body of research to support the physiological and psychological benefits of spending time in nature, including improved immune, cardiovascular and respiratory functioning, lower blood pressure, reduced stress, and better sleep cycles. Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is the practice of spending time among trees and nature to gain from their health benefits. Forest bathing originated in Japan in the early 1980s, but there is evidence of nature therapy dating back more than 2,500 years when Cyrus the Great created an urban garden in the capital of Persia to improve human health and promote a sense of calm. 

A forest at risk

Just as deliberate planting was necessary 2,500 years ago, we must be even more intentional about the creation and preservation of our green spaces today. A recent study by the U.S. Forest Service found that the U.S. is losing over 36 million trees per year. Nashville is no exception. In fact, Nashville’s urban forest has never been at greater risk. Rapid growth and Mother Nature are taking their toll.

The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle, will kill approximately 10% of our trees in the next five years, and we lost tens of thousands of trees in the March 3 tornados and hundreds more in the May 3 storm.

At Nashville Tree Foundation, we are making plans for our 35th-annual planting season with a fresh perspective and renewed conviction for the important role trees play in our community. Through our ReLeaf 2020 campaign, we will replant 10,000 trees in tornado-impacted neighborhoods, but it is critical that we protect the trees we have and continuously replenish our canopy for future generations.

While we look forward to the day when we can plant trees together, we will respect the slower pace of this time. We will bathe in our urban forest, noticing the daily changes and appreciating all that trees do to make our city a healthier, greener, better place to live and work. We will stay safer at home, and for now, we will plant a tree in our own backyard. You can too.

Andrew Bell, PhD, is executive director of Nashville Tree Foundation.

This article was published by the Tennessean. Click here to view this article on the Tennessean’s website.