He was able to attract corporate giants such as Microsoft, Yahoo and REI, to donate money and labor for the project in which volunteers planted 200 trees in the schools. "You go to the site, where there are no shadows, and you simply can not be there on a hot day", says Sid Espinosa, director of Microsoft's citizenship and the mayor. "It's not good for your health."
Trees get a boost more trees will help, Espinosa said. The leaves of trees absorb about 95% of ultraviolet radiation, in addition to improving air quality by producing oxygen, according to the National Park and recreation associations. Trees have psychological benefits as well, Louv says. "What do you see when you go to school campuses in East Palo Alto, specifically," says Espinosa. "Many of them look like prison yards. This is obviously not a good environment for children to play, not to mention learning in. "
Because trees usually take a decade or more to grow large enough to provide much shade, many schools built shade structures instead. Michelle Thornsberry, mother of two, helped lead efforts to create a sun shade on the playground at school their children, Stevenson Elementary in Burbank, California Building 30-foot by 40-foot shade structure completed last month, cost more than $ 25,000, Thornsberry said. Second, the smaller levaquin 500 mg structure would cost $ 14,000. To help, the American Academy of Dermatology and non-profit foundation shade by melanoma survivor, have awarded grants to provide shade structures for several years.
