Latest news with #greenspaces
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Living near green spaces could reduce risk of premature birth
Mothers living in areas where new trees are planted are more likely to give birth at term, with babies of higher weights, researchers say. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : The benefits of green spaces for human health are well established – they have been shown, for example, to promote physical activity, and reduce stress and pollution. But proximity to nature also has an impact on the number of premature births, according to a recent US study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Conducted by professors at Drexel University in Philadelphia, this research followed over 36,000 pregnant women who gave birth between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2020, residing in Portland, Oregon, where over 36,000 trees were planted between 1990 and 2020. The number of trees planted within a 100m radius of the participants' addresses was evaluated. 'We found that tree planting around maternal address was associated with increased birthweight as well as a reduced probability of a small-for-gestational-age or preterm birth,' the researchers wrote. In other words, mothers living in areas where trees were planted within the past 30 years were more likely to give birth at term, with babies of higher birth weights, than those living farther away from tree-planted areas. Specifically, living within 100m of at least 10 trees is associated with an increase of about 50g in birth weight, which was the case for 2,879 babies in the sample studied. 'This might not seem like a lot, but if every baby in our sample gained 50g at birth, that means 642 fewer babies considered small for gestational age and at higher risk for worse development later in life,' said senior author Yvonne Michael. The study also notes that older trees may provide some additional benefits compared to those recently planted, such as improved air quality and reduced noise pollution from road traffic. This study isn't the first to highlight a link between a reduction in premature births and proximity to green space. But the novelty lies in its methodology, which focuses on recently planted trees and over a precise period. 'Existing tree cover is often closely tied to factors like income, education and race, making it difficult to fully account for other possible explanations when studying birth outcomes. By focusing on newly planted trees, we were able to reduce the bias – essentially treating it as a natural experiment,' Michael explained. 'This is another data point showing that planting trees is a relatively easy and low-cost way to improve public health from the earliest stages of life,' she concluded.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
East Riding of Yorkshire Council to award community grants
The latest round of community funding grants has been opened by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, with residents able to apply for thousands of pounds to improve where they authority said it would provide grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 to support locally-led initiatives, which included improvements to local high streets, community infrastructure and green categories included the preservation of heritage landmarks, new events, along with schemes aimed at boosting total, £500,000 was available to be allocated, a spokesperson said. 'Build pride' The scheme is supported by the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which has awarded £1.7m to 64 projects across the East Riding since leader Anne Handley said: "We're proud to support local communities across our region and this is a fantastic scheme to build pride and invest in our local areas. "I highly encourage interested groups to... see how they can get involved."Anyone interested in applying should first contact the council's local growth team to ensure their proposal meets the eligibility can then be made online until 25 June . Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
CTV News
13-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
City of Kitchener reveals future plans for parks and greenspaces
CTV's Heather Senoran explains how parks and greenspaces in Kitchener could change to keep up with a booming population. The City of Kitchener will be updating many parks and greenspaces in the next decade as part of its Places and Spaces Masterplan. City staff presented 50 recommendations in 15 different categories on Monday at a Community and Infrastructure Services Committee meeting. 'For many people in our community, our parks are their backyard. They're their cottage, they're their open space,' said Margaret Johnson, a city councillor and chair of the committee. Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said it is a much-needed upgrade to the city's 2010 Parks Strategic Plan. 'Staff really updated it to both reflect the fact that we're a growing and changing community and our needs have changed in that regard. But also to recognize what's the next body of work that needs to guide us,' Vrbanovic told CTV News. Soccer field at Woodside Park Kitchener, Ont. Soccer fields are seen at Woodside Park in Kitchener, Ont. on May 12, 2025. (Heather Senoran/CTV News) For kids, rubberized play surfaces will be installed where necessary for safety purposes. The city is also considering more eco-friendly splashpads. 'Planning parks for the future includes creating a policy that prioritizes water conservation when expanding the splash pad network. And in a similar vein, work is underway by our colleagues in the Sanitary and Stormwater Utilities Division to integrate green infrastructure in existing parks,' said Rebecca Roy, the city's landscape architect. City councillors said they were pleased with staffs' work on this. The plan suggests more fenced dog parks especially in the city's south end. The city also suggested micro dog parks that are quieter and less crowded. There's also plans to add more lighting to sports fields and convert some natural fields to artificial turf. City staff said they want to look into upgrades across a network of several parks instead of improving one park at a time. Staff stressed the importance of community gardens. There are currently more than 20 in Kitchener. The city wants to make them more barrier-free and unveiled a plan to re-introduce a city coordinated community garden in an area of need. 'To support food security through opportunities for gardening, food literacy programming, community gathering, and demonstration,' said the report. Queens Green Kitchener Community Garden The Queen's Green Community Garden was photographed in Kitchener, Ont. on My 12, 2025. (Heather Senoran/CTV News) The city said it will take about ten years to complete all the recommendations but noted that some measures have already been implemented. 'Obviously subject to budgets that will be considered by council each year throughout that time period,' said Vrbanovic.
BBC News
10-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Newcastle-under-Lyme green spaces may be protected forever
More than 80 green spaces across Newcastle-under-Lyme could benefit from legal protection to safeguard them forever. The borough council may enter into legally-binding agreements with the Fields in Trust charity to ensure popular council-owned land remains publicly means 88 parks, open spaces, playgrounds, sports fields and cemeteries would stay public for recreational activities and nature appreciation in the Park, Brampton Park, Lyme Forest at Keele, Sandy Lane in Newcastle and Wolstanton Marsh are the sites currently being assessed for lodging Deeds of Dedication applications. This involves a landowner permanently designating land for a specific public use without transferring ownership. The council said securing the special status would provide an "additional layer of protection" for much-loved spaces in the borough from being considered for development. 'Hugely valuable assets' Leader Simon Tagg said the authority was committed to enhancing and preserving these said: "Newcastle-under-Lyme is home to many wonderful natural environments from amenity green spaces and award-winning parks to green corridors and nature reserves. "These areas are hugely valuable community assets; they boost residents' health and well-being, provide habitats for a diverse range of wildlife and capture and store vast amounts of harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere."Tagg said giving the sites a Fields in Trust status would mean "permanent protection forever"."They would be retained as public parks, playing fields and recreation grounds for generations to come", he added. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Sadiq Khan considers concreting over London's golf courses
Sir Sadiq Khan is considering concreting over some of London's golf courses. The Mayor of London announced plans on Friday to use more of the capital's green spaces for housing. A consultation on the city's development strategy for the next two decades suggested some golf courses could be open for development. The document said golf courses that were 'not accessible to the wider public and have limited biodiversity value' could be considered for new housing. It suggested that such courses could be released from their protected designation as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL). 'The mayor will continue to give protection to MOL given its vital role for Londoners and providing a liveable city as London grows,' the document said. 'However, some areas of MOL, such as certain golf courses, are not accessible to the wider public and have limited biodiversity value. This undermines the purpose of the designation. 'These areas could be assessed to understand whether they should be released from MOL. 'They may be able to help to meet London's housing and accessible open space provision ... At the same time, they could improve biodiversity through landscape-led redevelopment. Clearly there are key issues to explore.' The move comes as part of a wider push by Sir Sadiq for parts of the green belt that are 'low-quality land, poorly maintained and rarely enjoyed by Londoners' to be used as housing. It represents an about-turn in his stance, having staunchly opposed green belt development in previous years in favour of construction on brownfield sites. However, the change of heart comes as he scrambles to hit his target of building 88,000 homes in the capital per year. His existing plan is only delivering about 40,000. The mayor said in a speech in Greenwich, south-east London, on Friday: 'Development on carefully chosen parts of the green belt – done in the right way – would allow us to unlock hundreds of thousands of good-quality new homes for Londoners. 'This would not only go a long way to ending the housing crisis but provide a huge boost to our economy.' An England Golf spokesman said: 'Analysis shows that a high percentage of golfers are reliant on the sport for their physical activity in comparison to other sports, especially in densely populated areas. 'Given where the typical council-owned golf facility is located, this means that for some people, these sites provide them with their only opportunity to remain active. 'England Golf will always work closely with local authorities when the loss of any golf provision is proposed and expect to be consulted throughout any planning process where golf is impacted. 'Utilising robust supply and demand assessments to understand both the mixture of provision and volume of play within a facility's catchment enables us to ensure that those which are needed remain protected, or that appropriate mitigation to compensate for loss is secured.'
