Dollars Grow on Trees

Did you know that dollars can literally grow on trees?

A growing number of studies from millions of people around the world have found positive associations between urban green space and reductions in healthcare expenditures and utilizations. This site is your one-stop-shop for scientific literature and media coverage to share with stakeholders and convince them that urban greening, nature conservation, and time outdoors in nature is good for their bottom line.

Below, you will find infographics we've worked with partners to make along with media coverage and peer-reviewed scientific articles we encourage you to share.

Media coverage

Growing Sydney's tree canopy would save $1b in health costs, report says. ABC News, July 12, 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-13/one-billion-health-savings-greening-greater-sydney/106901582

Cities are investing tax dollars... on trees. Here's why it works. Every dollar invested in trees generates roughly three dollars in benefits. NPR Marketplace, June 19, 2026. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/05/19/why-cities-investing-in-trees-pays-off

Nature as remedy to healthcare costs. The Measure of Everyday Life Podcast, February 12, 2026. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nature-as-remedy-for-healthcare-costs/id956844695?i=1000749250322

Spending time outside can save people hundreds of dollars on health care. Post & Courier, August 5, 2025. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/nature-health-care-prescriptions-clemson/article_3cd64ca4-6381-4ca2-8c6e-83b19a9d94ee.html

Interviewed by Talk of Iowa Public Radio on benefits of spending time outdoors in nature for children, February 28, 2025. https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/talk-of-iowa/2025-02-28/the-uncertain-future-of-macbride-nature-recreation-area

Interviewed by the US Forest Service on the mental and physical health benefits of trees, May 22, 2024. https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/mentally-and-physically-trees-make-difference

Interviewed by WebMD on getting your daily dose of nature, March 3, 2023. https://www.webmd.com/balance/video/matthew-browning

Highlighted in Kaiser Permanente Division of Research Spotlight on how neighborhood green space is tied to lower health care costs, March 18, 2022. https://spotlight.kaiserpermanente.org/green-space-health-care-costs/

Highlighted in Clemson News on research finding that neighborhood green space is tied to lower health care costs, March 18, 2022. https://news.clemson.edu/research-finds-neighborhood-green-space-tied-to-lower-health-care-costs/

Research linking greenspace and healthcare spending covered by the Pacific Standard, April 2, 2019. https://psmag.com/environment/new-research-links-green-spaces-to-lower-medicare-spending

Research linking greenspace and healthcare spending highlighted by the Illinois News Bureau, October 7, 2016. https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/415332

Peer-reviewed research

Astell-Burt, Thomas, Michael Navakatikyan, Simon Eckermann, Maree Hackett, and Xiaoqi Feng. 2021. “Is Urban Green Space Associated with Lower Mental Healthcare Expenditure?” Social Science & Medicine 114503. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114503.

Becker, Douglas A. 2024. “Environmental Quality, Extreme Heat, and Healthcare Expenditures.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 21(10):1322. doi:10.3390/ijerph21101322.

Becker, Douglas A., and Matthew H. E. M. Browning. 2021. “Total Area Greenness Is Associated with Lower Per-Capita Medicare Spending, but Blue Spaces Are Not.” City and Environment Interactions 11:100063. doi:10.1016/j.cacint.2021.100063.

Becker, Douglas A., Matthew H. E. M. Browning, Ming Kuo, and Stephen K. Van Den Eeden. 2019. “Is Green Land Cover Associated with Less Health Care Spending? Promising Findings from County-Level Medicare Spending in the Continental United States.” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 41:39–47. doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2019.02.012.

Browning, Matthew H. E. M., Jun Shan, Stacey E. Alexeeff, Douglas Becker, Jonathan A. Greenberg, Ming Kuo, Olivia McAnirlin, Aaron Reuben, Kathleen L. Wolf, Thomas Astell Burt, and Stephen K. Van Den Eeden. 2025. “Moving to Greener Neighborhoods and Healthcare Costs in Northern California.” Environmental Epidemiology 9(3):e392. doi:10.1097/EE9.0000000000000392.

Feng, Xiaoqi, Michael Navakatikyan, Simon Eckermann, and Thomas Astell-Burt. 2024. “Show Me the Money! Associations between Tree Canopy and Hospital Costs in Cities for Cardiovascular Disease Events in a Longitudinal Cohort Study of 110,134 Participants.” Environment International 185:108558. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2024.108558.

Patwary, Muhammad Mainuddin, Mondira Bardhan, Matthew H. E. M. Browning, Thomas Astell-Burt, Matilda van den Bosch, Jiaying Dong, Angel M. Dzhambov, Payam Dadvand, Tracy Fasolino, Iana Markevych, Olivia McAnirlin, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Mathew P. White, and Stephen K. Van Den Eeden. 2024. “The Economics of Nature’s Healing Touch: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework of Green Space, Pharmaceutical Prescriptions, and Healthcare Expenditure Associations.” Science of The Total Environment 914:169635. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169635.

Van Den Eeden, Stephen, Matthew Browning, Jun Shan, G. Tom Ray, Charles Quesenberry, Douglas Becker, Ming Kuo, and Stacey Alexeeff. 2022. “Association between Residential Green Space and Healthcare Utilization.” ISEE Conference Abstracts 2022(1). doi:10.1289/isee.2022.p-0314.

Van Den Eeden, Stephen K., Matthew H.E.M. Browning, Douglas A. Becker, Jun Shan, Stacey E. Alexeeff, G. Thomas Ray, Charles P. Quesenberry, and Ming Kuo. 2022. “Association between Residential Green Cover and Direct Healthcare Costs in Northern California: An Individual Level Analysis of 5 Million Persons.” Environment International 163:107174. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107174.

Zhang, Yu, Sheng Chen, and Dewen Liu. 2024. “A Measurement Study of the Environmental Quality and Medical Expenditures of Elderly Individuals: Causal Inference Based on Machine Learning.” Archives of Public Health 82(1):195. doi:10.1186/s13690-024-01386-2.

Zhou, Wensu, Boyi Yang, Li Ling, and Hui Zhang. 2025. “Association between Greenness at Workplaces and Outpatient Visits and Health Expenditures for Mental Disorders.” Environmental Research 285(Pt 2):122440. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2025.122440.