Urban Guide Lesson 2: Urban Forests and Public Health
Provided by: Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education|Published on: July 16, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, Geography
Authors: LEAF Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Education
Region: Wisconsin
Languages: English
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This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This 120-minute lesson has students read a scientific paper about the physical and mental health benefits of urban forests and the 3-30-300 rule, then examine the Tree Equity Score of an urban community.
- Students conduct a tree inventory of their local urban forest, recording species and diameter data, and review Wisconsin DNR recommendations for planting urban trees in a changing climate.
Teaching Materials
Preparation:
- The tree inventory activity requires advance scouting of plots with at least ten public trees each near the school.
- Arrange extra adult supervisors for this outdoor activity if you plan on sending multiple small groups to different plots simultaneously.
- The inventory also requires DBH tapes (or flexible sewing tapes) and copies of the Wisconsin Urban Tree Key for each group.
Classroom Implementation:
- This is the second of four LEAF 9-12 Urban Forest Lessons; it builds on the economics lesson but can also be taught on its own.
- Build in time and structure for the whole-class share-out after the tree inventory (step 5 of Activity 2) since students need each other's plot data to answer the synthesis questions.
- Have students pace the "300 meters" in the 3-30-300 rule so the metric scale is concrete.
Differentiation:
- For the culminating assessment, scaffold the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response by having students first collect evidence from their inventory data and the assigned article before drafting.
- Additionally, provide sentence stems to help develop scientific writing.
- Challenge advanced groups to calculate their measured plot's actual percent composition by family/genus/species and evaluate it against the 20-10-5 rule numerically, rather than just qualitatively.
This lesson examines the public health benefits of urban forests and explores how many trees are needed to maintain a healthy, effective urban forest. Students will explore their local area to determine their tree equity score. The lesson emphasizes the connection between nature and human health. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
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