As the climate continues to change, so too must our response in how we address it. Cities in the Pacific Northwest and all across the United States experienced high heat events in summer 2021. The Biden Administration recently published a White House brief to announce immediate actions to protect workers and communities from extreme heat better. This announcement follows a broader administrative pledge towards workplace safety, climate resilience and environmental justice. 

Nature and Health researcher Kathleen Wolf, PhD, was a co-author on a report featured in the White House Brief. This project is related to her prior work on urban forestry, health and community design. Dr. Wolf collaborated with colleagues at the USDA Forest Service and American Forests on the 2021 report, Climate Adaptation Actions for Urban Forests and Human Health. The result is a menu of practical ways to use nature-based solutions to reduce climate risks, promote health of urban trees and forests, and create additional co-benefits of improved human health and well-being within communities. The guide lays out nine broad strategies and then provides more specificity by suggesting adaptation approaches and tactics to move from evidence to action.

Specific action opportunities, described as tactics in the guide, include:

• Developing local tree planting projects that reflect community and cultural values while addressing local climate impacts and their associated health effects. This will also encourage relationship-building and nurture attachment-to-place by creating community collaboration.
• Strategically planting different tree and plant species that better anticipate a local community’s needs as the climate changes (i.e. planting more water-tolerant trees in wetter climates; diverting stormwater runoff to forests, swales or highly vegetative areas; providing ample room for root growth to better withstand extreme winds, etc.)
• Engaging engineers, urban planners, sustainability officers and local policymakers to design urban spaces that include trees to shade sidewalks and bike lanes to encourage people to walk, bike or ride public transit more frequently.

In addition to protecting communities from extreme heat, the guidelines are linked to enhancing public health by improving air quality, increasing storm resilience, and promoting mental health and social cohesion.

This actionable report is but one of many initiatives to improve public health amidst climate change that are being developed by federal agencies, including Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These new programs also focus on how to identify when heat disproportionately impacts communities of color and how to provide holistic support better to build resilient communities in the face of climate change.