By Lilly Mattingly
Did you know that Louisville’s current tree canopy is only 37% and decreasing? It comes as no shock that as urban vegetation declines, so does the air quality. Currently, Louisville’s air quality ranks among the worst in Kentucky. Additionally, the city has the highest rate of heart disease.
Green Heart of Louisville hopes to change this, and is calling all Louisvillians to help. Saturday, Nov. 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the University of Louisville is partnering with Green Heart Project and asking community members to grab their shovels and work boots and head to Olmsted Academy t0 join them in the effort to help plant trees.
This organization is a “Multimillion-dollar investment in underserved Louisville neighborhoods that seeks to demonstrate the scientific link between nature and human health by tackling two critical problems — air pollution and chronic disease — with a new nature-based approach. The project is a clinical trial where trees are medicine.”
In the past six years, the program has planted over 8,000 new trees near highways and under-developed areas to help improve health and decrease inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Decreasing the amount of inflammation will help decrease the rates of chronic illnesses.
The hope is that the trees will not only act as filters to catch air pollution from the highway, but also create a more comforting environment for those living in these areas.
“I have noticed a difference in both my mental and physical health since moving to Bardstown Road,” said Hope Fenely, a local who grew up in Oldham County. “There is a lot more tress and greenery out there, I often miss the peace it brought me”.
With the information learned from this project, there is an opportunity to improve the lives of thousands and maybe millions worldwide.
“I never knew this project existed,” said Macy Justice, a student at U of L. “I have always been someone who has cared about the environment and my community, I would be really interested in helping with this event”.
Those interested can sign up today through the University of Louisville; don’t forget your green thumb!
