(Marco Saccardi / Flickr )

Boise is known as the City of Trees, and despite being in a desert, it has a fairly substantial urban forest.

More and more researchers are finding that trees aren't just beautiful to look at: they also provide health benefits, from lowering blood pressure to helping babies grow and thrive. And cities and companies are working together to create healthier environments by planting trees.

Lance Davisson is the Executive Director and Cofounder at Treasure Valley Canopy Network, and Geoffrey Donovan is a research forester with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. They'll be talking about the health benefits of trees, Wednesday April 10, as part of St. Luke's lecture series on climate and health, and they joined us for a preview.