A recent article in Inside Higher Ed explores the importance of postsecondary institutions’ forests and the benefits they offer employees and students. The authors explain that some postsecondary institutions own forested land that they use for a variety of purposes, including research and education. These forests are accessible green spaces that offer low-cost learning and research opportunities and have positive mental and physical health benefits. The authors write that since these spaces are often underappreciated and cost money to maintain, academic forests need advocates who will fight against pressures such as development in times of financial stress. “The forests we protect today are where the foundational science of tomorrow gets made,” conclude the authors.
