Environmental Injustice, Tree Canopy Cover, and Academic Proficiency at Utah Public Primary Schools

Tree canopy cover has mental and physical health benefits for children, yet distributional environmental injustices in tree canopy cover near schools are rarely investigated. Some evidence suggests that tree canopy coverage positively influences aggregated school-level children's academic proficiency metrics. There is a lack of research if canopy cover moderates the negative effect of particulate matter on academic proficiency.

We linked data on schools from the National Center for Education Statistics, Utah's Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence, the National Land Cover Database, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We used generalized estimating equations, which account for non-normally distributed data and clustering, to analyze data from the 2015 to 2016 school year.

Greater school social disadvantage (higher percentages of students qualifying for free/reduced price meals and higher percentages of racial/ethnic minority students) was significantly associated with reductions in tree canopy cover within 1000 m and 500 m of the school. Greater tree canopy coverage at 1000 m and 500 m was significantly associated with a lower percentage of students testing below proficient on year-end math and language arts exams. Additional days of peak fine particulate matter were associated with higher percentages of students testing below proficient in math.

Socially disadvantaged primary schools in Utah were surrounded by less canopy cover. There was a protective effect of tree canopy cover on academic proficiency in math and language arts.

Findings suggest targeting carefully designed tree planting efforts at socially disadvantaged schools and testing interventions involving tree planting and changes in academic proficiency.