The Human Cost of Environmental Degradation

Description: Many in Carter's community once lived in synch with nature.

Transcript:  It’s so interesting, because so many of the folks that we work with in our community are, actually, from places where nature was such an important part, you know, of our lives.  You know, from down south or they’re, you know, from Caribbean, where people were naturally drawn to the water, you know, to the forests, et cetera.  And so to see people disconnected from that, you know, I think, is almost as a spiritual disconnect, you know, from their real lives.  And what we were essentially born into the legacy that we were born into.  So when we are missing that, you know, being able to help people reconnect with a natural part of the world that is in their community is such a valuable thing that may, number one, feel better about it.  I mean, there’s studies that are written now.  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, actually, did this huge amount of studies on what are the effects of urban forestry?  You know, it’s, like, a cluster of three trees, what it can do on a block that has not others, in terms of lowering stress rates.  You know, improving girls’ self-esteem.  You know, lowering stress levels in adults.  And recognizing that they, also, play a role, especially, if you have more of them in actually cleaning the air.  You know, creating more opportunities for urban forestry management and creating jobs, as well.  And so it’s a whole slew of things that-- and they’re, actually, called Environmental Services, when you, actually, use the value of nature to, actually, take care of an industrial problem that we have.

Recorded on: 4/28/08