Benefits of urban greening

Why do we focus on urban greening? There are many reasons why restoring nature in cities is beneficial. The list below outlines a number of benefits of urban greening that encourage us to work in this field:

• Forming corridors or stepping stones connecting locally indigenous insects and animals to nature reserves and other places to feed and breed
• Providing accessible medicinal plants to local residents
• Taking pressure off nature reserves by providing medicinal plants to harvest in residential areas
• Forming pollination corridors so that isolated plants are pollinated by near-by insects, birds, or wind-blown pollen
• Developing an appreciation for the beauty of local plants
• Developing local general knowledge of local indigenous plants and how to propagate and care for them
• Locally indigenous plants that support natural beauty of the area indirectly supports tourism
• Increased awareness and appreciation of the environment by a broader public
• A way for us to positively contribute to building our own environment
• Increased wellbeing as a result of physical and psychological health benefits of a healthy ecosystem
• Interaction with people from the same neighbourhood to work towards a common goal: enhanced feeling of belonging and purpose
• Opportunity for those often excluded to participate (e.g. the elderly, people with limited mobility)
• A way for people to develop an appreciation for the politics of conservation
• A means to connect with environmental history and forgotten heritage
• Restoring original vegetation types to achieve functional urban ecosystems