Brief Encounters with Urban Forests Pro- Duce Moods That Matter

Good moods matter. Our moods have significant impacts on many aspects of our day-to-day lives. Moods, for example, affect productivity and health. When in a "good" mood, the cup looks half full, performance on inclusive, creative cognitive tasks is enhanced, self-esteem is high, and the immune system is strongest. When in a "bad" mood the cup looks half empty, performance on inclusive, creative tasks is impaired, self-esteem is low, and immune system resilience may be down (1,2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 14). Because moods have tangible and significant consequences, factors that influence moods deserve our attention. In particular, moods impacting office productivity and health have direct and potentially significant implications for urban forestry because they have fiscal implications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact on mood of brief visits to an urban park and to suggest potential implications of this impact for urban forestry.