Want to Build Healthier Cities? Make Room for Bird and Tree Diversity

Lead image by Jeffrey Eisen / Pexels

By Rachel Buxton, Emma J. Hudgins and Stephanie Prince Ware

This article is  from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by  from various sources.

Rachel Buxton is an assistant professor in biology at 杏吧原创 University.

More than  鈥� approximately one in eight of us 鈥� are living with a mood, anxiety or substance use disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders is on the rise, 

The stresses of the city, , can  even further.

When most people think about caring for their mental health, they may think about getting more exercise, getting more sleep and making sure they鈥檙e eating healthy. Increasingly, research is showing that spending time in nature surrounded by plants and wildlife can also contribute to .

Our research focuses on the importance of birds and trees in urban neighbourhoods in promoting mental well-being. , we combined more than a decade of health and ecological data across 36 Canadian cities and found a positive association between greater bird and tree diversity and self-rated mental health.

The well-being benefits of healthy ecosystems will probably not come as a great surprise to urban dwellers who relish days out in the park or hiking in a nearby nature reserve. Still, the findings of our study speak to the potential of a nature-based urbanism that promotes the health of its citizens.

Birds, trees and human connection

Across cultures and societies, people have . The beauty of their bright song and colour have inspired art, music and poetry. Their contemporary cultural relevance has even earned them an affectionate, absurdist internet nickname: 鈥�.鈥�

There鈥檚 something magical about catching a glimpse of a bird and hearing birdsong. For many urbanites, birds are our daily connection to wildlife and a gateway to nature. In fact, even if we don鈥檛 realize it, humans and birds are intertwined. Birds provide us with many  鈥� controlling insects, dispersing seeds and pollinating our crops.

People have similarly intimate connections with trees. The terms tree of life, family trees, even tree-hugger all demonstrate the central cultural importance trees have in many communities around the world. In cities, trees are a staple of efforts to bring .

When the Australian city of Melbourne gave urban trees email addresses for people to report problems, residents responded by writing . Forest bathing, a .

Birds and trees as promoters of urban wellness

Contact with nature and greenspace have a suite of mental health benefits.

Natural spaces  and offer places for recreation and relaxation for urban dwellers, but natural diversity is key. A growing amount of research shows that the extent of these benefits may be related to the .

For example, in the United States, higher bird diversity is associated with  and longer . In a European study, researchers found that .

People鈥檚 connection to a greater diversity of birds and trees could be because we  鈥� one with more things to eat and more shelter. Biodiverse environments are also less work for the brain to interpret, .

To explore the relationship between biodiversity and mental health in urban Canada, we brought together unique datasets. First, we collected bird data sourced from community scientists, where people . We then compared this data with .

Finally, we compared both of these data sets to a  that has interviewed approximately 65,000 Canadians each year for over two decades.

We found that living in a neighbourhood with higher than average bird diversity increased reporting of good mental health by about seven per cent. While living in a neighbourhood with higher than average tree diversity increased good mental health by about five per cent.

Importance of urban bird and tree diversity

The results of our study, and those of others, show a connection between urban bird and tree diversity, healthy ecosystems and people鈥檚 mental well-being. This underscores the importance of urban biodiversity conservation as part of healthy living promotion.

Protecting wild areas in parks, planting pollinator gardens and reducing pesticide use could all be key strategies to protect urban wildlife and promote people鈥檚 well-being. Urban planners should take note.

We鈥檙e at a critical juncture: just as we are beginning to understand the well-being benefits of birds and trees, we鈥檙e losing species at a faster rate than ever before. It鈥檚 estimated that there are  in North America compared to the 1970s and invasive pests will .

By promoting urban biodiversity, we can ensure a sustainable and healthy future for all species, including ourselves.

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杏吧原创 Rises to #4 in Canada in Maclean鈥檚 Rankings鈥�

Maclean鈥檚 magazine has released their  which once again highlight 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 excellence.

杏吧原创 rose to No. 4 in Canada (No. 2 in Ontario) in the comprehensive category 鈥� universities with a significant amount of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.

鈥淚 am pleased that 杏吧原创鈥檚 achievements continue to be recognized in these national rankings,鈥� said 杏吧原创鈥檚 Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, Jerry Tomberlin.

鈥淭he Maclean鈥檚 rankings highlight our strengths in research and the student experience which reflects our smart, caring community.鈥�

杏吧原创鈥檚 leadership in research was again recognized as No. 1 in funding in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

Student support continues to be recognized as 杏吧原创 secured top 5 rankings in the categories of Scholarships and Bursaries as well as Student Awards.

杏吧原创 is a home to top academic talent which is a testament to its ranking as No. 4 in Faculty Awards. In addition, 杏吧原创鈥檚 Engineering program rose to No. 10 in the country.

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The science says biodiversity isn鈥檛 just good for the environment鈥t鈥檚 good for your mental health too!
Rachel Buxton is a 杏吧原创 professor who was the lead author of the study that shows the connection between living in a neighbourhood with a greater variety of birds and better mental health.

Aired: June 29, 2024

The post ISAP Faculty-Dr. Rachel Buxton talks about Biodiversity on CBC Fresh Air appeared first on IEIS.

EXPO 杏吧原创 will be on Tuesday, September 5th in the CU Fieldhouse from 1-4pm.
/campus/map/

Open to all 杏吧原创 students and the 杏吧原创 Community.

Faculty will be present to discuss our new Science Certificate programs

The post EXPO 杏吧原创-Tuesday, September 5th, Learn 杏吧原创 Science Certificate Programs appeared first on IEIS.

The 杏吧原创 University Research Achievement Awards are administered by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International). The purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding research achievements. The awards were established in 1989 to enhance the quality of research and to recognize research excellence. The recipients鈥� terms run from May to April.

Be sure to view past  winners and the Teaching Achievement Award winners too!

The post IEIS Director, Dr. Steven Cooke Awarded 2023 Research Achievement Award appeared first on IEIS.

Piecing Together the Conservation Puzzle: 杏吧原创 Partners with Nature Conservancy of Canada to Create High-Tech Land Management Tool

Photos courtesy the Nature Conservancy of Canada

By Dan Rubinstein

Protecting Canada鈥檚 natural places is an important front in the fight against climate change.

 in forests helps remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, while keeping wetlands intact can mitigate flooding and drought. Moreover, preserving wildlife habitat provides a boost to biodiversity, which is a critical part of any healthy ecosystem.

Since it was established in 1962, the  (NCC) has helped conserve 15 million hectares across the country 鈥� an area roughly twice the size of New Brunswick.

Big Trout Bay, southwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario

But when considering what to do with both large and small tracts of land, the NCC and its partners have to juggle multiple stewardship priorities and figure out how and where to deploy limited funding and resources. Which is why the organization approached 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 Bennett Lab, whose researchers specialize in supporting environmental decision-making.

Their ensuing collaboration 鈥� an approximately $2-million project funded by the NCC,  and an  鈥� has spawned a new digital tool, , that uses artificial intelligence software and prioritization algorithms to take some of the guesswork out of the complex conservation process.

Sites is an open-access platform that can be used for free by any organization or government agency that鈥檚 involved in conservation, including Indigenous communities and non-profit land trusts.

鈥淭he challenges we face are so big and daunting, we need to be as efficient as possible when we try to protect natural spaces and biodiversity,鈥� says 杏吧原创 environmental scientist Joe Bennett, the lab鈥檚 principal investigator.

Prof. Joe Bennett

Sites does not remove people from the equation, Bennett is quick to point out. There鈥檚 still a human element to these decisions; the tool only provides support.

鈥淥ne of the most rewarding aspects of this project has been breaking down the dichotomy between academic research and practical, applied products,鈥� says Bennett. 鈥淥ur partnership with the NCC has led us in a new direction. Our group publishes papers all the time, but the reason most of us go into this career is to try to make a difference in conservation.鈥�

Democratizing Conservation Planning

The NCC began working with 杏吧原创 in early 2020, and the desire to standardize and 鈥渄emocratize鈥� conservation planning was central from the start, says , a former Bennett Lab postdoctoral researcher who became the NCC鈥檚 Director of Spatial Planning and Innovation in April 2021

Richard Schuster

鈥淵ou can map out different scenarios based on complex datasets and make informed decisions fairly quickly.鈥�

Government officials, conservation managers and forestry company representatives can meet for a day to discuss a parcel of land, for example, and come away with an agreement that maximizes habitat and wildlife protection. Specific locations could be opened to resource extraction, while others will remain untouched.

In Prince Edward Island, the NCC is using Sites to work with Indigenous partners, the provincial government and local conservation groups to create a protected area network plan for the entire island.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see a sophisticated approach to analysis that we started talking about at a university translated into an on-the-ground solution,鈥� says Schuster. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e at the point where this can be used to protect biodiversity into the future.鈥�

Bison roaming NCC-protected land

The 鈥淲here To Work鈥� part of Sites identifies the best locations for conservation measures, while 鈥淲hat To Do鈥� recommends which strategies to use, such as installing fencing or removing invasive species. Because priorities can vary 鈥� say, maintaining water features, or protecting endangered birds 鈥� a flexible platform that can integrate all of the relevant data is essential.

鈥淵ou need to see the whole picture when planning for the future, and you need to know what to do 鈥� and where to do it 鈥� to get the optimal solution considering your constraints.鈥�

Research Computing Services manager Andrew Schoenrock

杏吧原创 postdoctoral researcher Jeff Hanson was the lead developer of the tool, with support from Andrew Schoenrock and his team in the university鈥檚 Research Computing Services unit.

鈥淲e wanted Sites to help people understand the spatial context of their data and results,鈥� says Hanson. 鈥淭he greatest strength of the tool is that is provides an interactive and spatially explicit environment for identifying priority areas for conservation.

鈥淚t also aims to make it easy to understand and compare different solutions, with interactive graphs that show various performance statistics. This is important because its helps people find the right set of priority areas to meet their objectives in a cost-effective way.鈥�

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 A century caught on camera

100 years ago, The Globe and Mail hired its first staff photographer, and nearly four dozen have followed since. Explore our curated collection of their work, more than 1,650 images, year-by-year from 1922 to 2022….

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NSCI1000 and 2000 Course Comparison

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Tyrone Burke, November 16, 2021
Photo credit: Luther Caverly

杏吧原创鈥檚 Steven Cooke Awarded Highly Cited Researcher 2021

For a second year in a row, Environmental Science and Biology Professor Steven Cooke has been named a  This honour recognizes researchers with multiple publications that rank in the top one per cent of citations in their field in the Web of Science.

Cooke has been producing science to help define the urgency that half of Canada鈥檚 freshwater fish species are at risk of extinction despite our numerous lakes and rivers for years. Freshwater ecosystems face many threats that terrestrial and marine ones do鈥攃limate change, development, and disruption by extractive industries鈥攊n addition to being a valuable resource for agricultural production, drinking water, and generating electricity.

This combination of threats and competing demands creates some unique conservation challenges and Cooke found his approach to science was not generating the results he hoped for. So, the Professor of Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology began collaborating more. Not only within the lab and across academic disciplines, but with Indigenous knowledge-keepers, commercial fishers, and policy-makers.  Over the past year, Cooke estimates that he has had as many as 500 different co-authors on research publications.

That spirit of collaboration is one factor in Cooke being named a Highly Cited Researcher for 2021.

鈥淚 have always been fascinated by fish, wanted to help them. But even though I thought I was doing research that was relevant to decision-makers, it was not having impact on the timeframes I thought it should,鈥� says Cooke.

 has about 40 students, staff, and postdoctoral researchers from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds. He credits that intellectual diversity with keeping internal discussions intellectually vigorous.

鈥淲e are really fortunate to have a diverse group that approaches things in different ways. We have people who are experts in everything from endocrine function in vertebrates to governance structures in environmental organizations. That is pretty disparate, and it makes for a rich training environment,鈥� says Cooke.

鈥淭hey are all really committed to science and generating actionable knowledge, and I am in awe of what they accomplish. Science can鈥檛 be done by one person. It is team science, especially with the type of work that we do.鈥�

Zoological Society Accolade
Cooke was also recently recognized with the 2021 Zoological Society of London Marine and Freshwater Conservation Award, which is awarded for research that has a significant impact on freshwater and marine conservation. Research impact will not necessarily happen organically, and Cooke has been deliberate about integrating into the way The Cooke Lab works鈥攂oth internally and externally.

鈥淚f you do applied research that will be used by others, then they need to be involved in the process. It is not a matter of scientists in lab coats doing what we do, and handing it over to the knowledge users. There is a partnership that needs to start at the beginning. From identifying the questions and the issues through to data collection, interpretation, and application,鈥� says Cooke.

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