[CANUFNET] Psychological Benefits of Trees

[Dirk Brinkman]

One compelling argument linking trees to human well being came from some work done by the University of Beijing, on the basis of which the government of China built the Forest Capital Hotel, in Manchuria Province outside of Yichun in the middle of the 3 million hectare Yichun forest. 

The Forest Capital Hotel is a lavish $55 million complex of 13 buildings each designed to reflect the architecture of some part of the world--there was a log mansion with a dozen rooms, as well as the main convention centre with 15 meter pillars and Greek statues in cascading fountains and pools with large stair cases. I was one of the international speakers invited to be part of the Yichun Declaration of Forest Ecosystem Protection in August 17, 2007, which also inaugurated the Hotel. Needless to say I was impressed with the location and government investment and so I asked the most important person, the Mayor, a central party official-(the Mayor was responsible for the VP entourage in which we were conveyed for four hours at 130Km/hour with, impressively, police or military standing at attention at every little dirt road intersection stopping traffic for us) -- why they built this enormous hotel in the middle of the forest? 

The Mayor said that researchers at the University of Beijing had found that there were 30,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter in the middle of the Yichun forest, whereas there were less than 1000 in a cubic centimeter of Beijing air. So they built the hotel here as a place where government officials can make better decisions, because negative ions help individual well being and create clear headedness. 

The presence of negative ions is, I understand from some of the University of Beijing professors there, associated with the volatile organic oils precipitating from the forest around which light rain drop accumulate whose fine mist spins free ions that attach to oxygen and create what are called negative ions.

Of course, planting trees in the city does not create 3 million hectares of forests, however, the more trees the more negative ions 

But this reverts the question to, where is the evidence that a high level of negative ions is associated with healing, well being and health? 

There is a lot of associative experiential evidence and an explanation of negative ions can be found and their life cycle is at http://www.trifield.com/air_ions.htm. This data may correlate with places you have experienced well being and perhaps even associates with why you work with trees.

There is an abundance of email sites from those who sell negative ion generators for offices, homes and cars.  For some clinical data on the anti-depressant effect of negative ions on patients with seasonal affective disorder and some related data see http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/55/10/875.

Dirk

 

 

Dirk Brinkman, CEO

Brinkman & Associates Reforestation Ltd Canada

Brinkman y Asociados Reforestacion Centro America SA

Brinkman Forest Restoration Ltd IBC Barbados 

520 Sharpe St. New Westminster, BC V3M 4R2

Canadian Off: 604 520 2800; fax:604 520 1968; Cell: 604 787 4033

web: www.brinkmanforest.com <http://www.brinkmanforest.com/> 

Vision: To be recognized as the best at forest ecosystem renewal, world wide.

Mission: We deliver innovative ecosystem-based solutions for restoring and sustaining forests.

 

________________________________

From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Michael Rosen
Sent: September 17, 2008 6:53 AM
To: Michael Rosen
Subject: [CANUFNET] Psychological Benefits of Trees

 

I am looking to update a presentation on the Psychological Benefits of Trees. If anyone has some recent research, not necessarily Canadian that they can quickly refer me to, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

Michael Rosen, R.P.F.

President / président, Tree Canada / Arbres Canada

402 - 222 Somerset St. West / 402 - 222, rue Somerset ouest

Ottawa ON K2P 2G3

T 1.877-666-1444; 613. 567-5545 X. 222 ;  F/Téléc (613) 567-5270  

E/C mrosen at treecanada.ca <mailto:mrosen at treecanada.ca>   

www.treecanada.ca <http://www.treecanada.ca/>  / www.arbrescanada.ca <http://www.arbrescanada.ca/> 

Canadian Urban Forest Conference , 24-26 septembre 2008 /

Conférence canadienne sur la forêt urbaine, 24 - 26 septembre 2008

www.cufc8.ca <http://www.cufc8.ca> 

 

 

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