Dr. Donovan will discuss his research with us, specifically focusing on three studies linking urban trees with human health. First, a study that shows that women who have more trees around their home are less likely to have underweight or premature babies. Second, why the spread of the emerald ash borer does more than cause environmental harm. In addition, counties infested with emerald ash borer have higher rates of cardiovascular and lower respiratory mortality. This is especially relevant to communities in the Pacific Northwest, as the emerald ash borer was discovered in Oregon in 2022. Third, he will discuss the public-health impacts of a tree-planting program in Portland, Oregon, where he found that neighborhoods that had more tree planting also had lower rates of cardiovascular mortality. 

Taken together, these studies show that urban trees can have a profound effect on our health. 

Please join us to learn about these urgent findings about tree’s lifesaving benefits.

Dr. Donovan received his PhD in forest economics from Colorado State University in 2001. He then worked for 23 years as an economist for the USDA Forest Service in Alaska and Oregon.

Currently he’s the owner of Ash and Elm Consulting, which is focused on making the business case for urban trees.

His primary research focus has been quantifying the benefits of urban trees. These have ranged from intuitive benefits—reduced summertime cooling costs and increased home values, for example—to less intuitive benefits such as crime reduction. He has worked extensively on the relationship between trees and public health finding that mothers with trees around their homes are less likely to have underweight babies, and when trees are killed by an invasive pest, more people die from cardiovascular and lower-respiratory diseases.

His current research focuses on how exposure to plant diversity may protect against a range of immune diseases.

This event is possible thanks to Tacoma Creates.