Green Heart Louisville is a large-scale planting and research project taking place in several neighborhoods in Southern Louisville. The Envirome Institute and partners planted over 9000 trees and monitored over 800 study participants in order to gauge the health effects of increased exposure to greenery. Trees were planted strategically to provide consistent exposure to residents within the neighborhoods, while others were planted along major traffic corridors in order to act as a buffer for air and sound pollution.
This is all part of a long term study, but early results indicate that participants showed a significant reduction in hsCRP, an inflammation marker in their blood, compared to residents in the unplanted areas. Lower levels of inflammation are associated with lower levels of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
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