Honour a Health Care Worker: Donate to Plant a Tree 

Providence Health Care is partnering with Trees for Life to show gratitude and recognize dedicated health care workers -- you can donate to plant a tree in honour of a health care worker who has made a difference in your life!

The cost to plant one tree is approximately $50. We would love your support to help plant at least 100 trees. Please make a donation today! 

Trees for Health is part of a cross-Canada initiative to create more green spaces at health facilities. Trees will be planted at up to four Providence Health Care sites to beautify the grounds and provide a more calming, green environment for staff, residents, and patients.

If you'd like to dedicate your donation to a particular health worker or team, you will have the opportunity to identify them in a follow up email, and their names will be added to a list on a website we’re creating.

How Can Trees Benefit People?

• Individuals gain greater restorative experience and lower stress levels with longer stays and more visits to green spaces.
• Studies on forest walking have found improved immune system response, lowered stress, reduced depression, and lower glucose levels in diabetics.
• Urban nature, like parks and walkways and incorporated into building design, provides calming and inspiring environments and encourages learning, curiosity, and alertness.
• Nature helps restore our minds from the mental fatigue of work or studies, even office plants and views from windows help reduce stress, boost productivity, improve job satisfaction, and help workers stay more attentive.

Recuperating patients with a view of trees vs a brick wall experienced:

• Faster, smoother recovery with fewer complications.
• Shorter stays: 7.96 days vs 8.7 days.
• Fewer negative post-surgery notes from nurses, 1.13 per patient, vs 3.96 per wall-view patient.
• Fewer analgesic doses 2-5 days after surgery.
• Fewer and less intense pain medications (such as aspirin vs narcotics).

Trees for Life is partnering with Providence’s Environmental Stewardship Team in this initiative.

References:

1. Korpela, K.M., M. Ylén, L. Tyrväinen, and H. Silvennoinen. 2008. Determinants of Restorative Experiences in Everyday Favorite Places. Health Place 14, 4:636-652.

2. Morita, E., S. Fukuda, J. Nagano, et al. 2007. Psychological Effects of Forest Environments on Healthy Adults: Shinrin-Yoku (Forest-Air Bathing, Walking) As a Possible Method of Stress Reduction. Public Health 121, 1:54-63.

3. Heerwagen, J.H., and G.H. Orians. 1993. Humans, habitats, and aesthetics. In: Kellert, S.R., and E.O. Wilson (eds.), The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press/Shearwater Books, Washington D.C., pp. 138-172.

4. Heerwagen, J.H., and G.H. Orians. 2002. The ecological world of children. In: Kahn, P.H.J., and S.R. Kellert (eds.), Children and Nature: Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations. MIT Press, Cambridge MA, pp. 29-64.

5. Berto, R. 2005. Exposure to Restorative Environments Helps Restore Attentional Capacity. Journal of Environmental Psychology 25, 3:249-259.

6. Ulrich, R.S. 1984 / Science. Volume 224, Issue 4647, Pages 420-421.