Cooling Down Those HOT August Nights!
North State summer living requires the discipline of keeping your cool—in the heat of the day and often—especially in August—during the night! By the end of June, as summer truly begins, most of us will have become experts at finding ways to keep ourselves cool as we go about our lives. As the summer advances and the thermometer rises…and rises some more…it is imperative to have fully developed strategies and practices to reduce the effects of heat on our bodies, in our homes, AND within our community!
This summer, rising temperatures and prolonged heat spells are once again making headlines, not only here in Redding, but around the nation and the globe. It’s becoming more and more apparent that excessive heat is very dangerous to the health and well-being of humans, plants, and animals.
Heat is exacerbated in areas with dense population, large amounts of blacktop roadways, and concrete buildings. Studies have shown that the temperatures in cities can be 1 –3 °C higher than average rural temperatures. This is known as the urban heat island effect and occurs because buildings, roads, and other hard surfaces absorb and store more heat compared to surrounding areas.
What helps to mitigate the heat island effect?
It turns out that the more trees and natural spaces we have within our community, the cooler we will be! Green cover and open spaces help to balance the temperatures in cities and towns, counteracting urban heat. Trees and other tall vegetation provide shade, and cool and clean the air through the process of evapotranspiration. For some locations, it has been estimated that evapotranspiration can reduce peak summer temperatures by 5 °C. Here in the north state, you can test this phenomenon when you visit different neighborhoods, different parts of town, or even different areas of your yard. You can literally feel a difference in temperature depending on how much green cover there is!
How can our community counteract the heat island effect so that everyone is healthier and cooler?
Many places around the country are adopting these five main strategies to help turn down the heat:
Increasing tree and vegetative cover by investing in park, trail, and open space development
Installing green, cool, or reflective roofs
Enforcing a robust tree ordinance that preserves and promotes increased tree coverage
Using cool pavements (either reflective or permeable)
Utilizing smart growth practices
We are lucky that our city’s Community Services Department is committed to expanding our community’s green cover and open spaces to help us mitigate heat island effects in our community through park and trail development projects. They have been working tirelessly to win grant funding and establish private/public partnerships to secure funding for numerous recent, ongoing, and future projects including Salt Creek Heights, Shastina Ranch, Cumberland Park, Panorama Park, Caldwell Park Expansion, and South City Park.
The Redding Parks & Trails Foundation is committed to working with the City of Redding Community Services Department to support and expand our parks, trails, and open spaces as a strategy to help decrease the impact of heat island effects and provide cooling spaces for our community.
We hope you will stay cool this August—AND join us in advocating and supporting efforts to expand our community’s investment in green infrastructure for the benefit of our entire community!
