A new study reveals a concerning correlation between the loss of urban trees due to insect infestations and a decline in educational outcomes, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The research, conducted by University of Utah social scientists, focused on the impact of the emerald ash borer in the Chicago metropolitan region.
Economists studied test scores and school attendance for Chicago-area kids before and after an insect infestation killed the city's ash trees. Education outcomes for low-income students worsened, emphasizing how the consequences of ecosystem damage are felt more severely by disadvantaged communities. It's widely recognized that urban tree cover offers numerous environmental and psychological benefits to city residents.
Urban trees may also improve educational outcomes, and their loss could disproportionately affect students from low-income families, according to new research by University of Utah social scientists. Economics professor Alberto Garcia examined changes in school attendance and standardized test scores at schools in the Chicago metropolitan region over the decade after an invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer appeared in North America, eventually killing millions of ash trees lining the streets and yards of Midwestern cities. His findings are both alarming and insightful, revealing a complex connection between environmental degradation and social inequalities. The study analyzes how the loss of tree cover influenced educational outcomes in the Chicago metropolitan region, which was severely impacted by the infestation. Ash had been the region's most common non-invasive tree species, accounting for 18% of its street trees, or about 85,000 trees. Between 2010 and 2020 Chicago lost half its standing ash, with the remaining half already dead or declining, according to the Morton Arboretum. The study tracked changes in student performance on a standardized test given to 3rd- through 8th-graders in Illinois, from 2003 to 2012. 'We found that test scores in areas with ash borer infestations were reduced after the onset of those infestations compared to unaffected areas that were similar,' Garcia said
Urban Trees Education Inequality Emerald Ash Borer Ecosystem Degradation
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