NEW YORK — Putting more green space around an elementary school may help students develop some mental abilities, a study suggests. . . .

Green space may help mental development in part by reducing air pollution from vehicles, according to an analysis by the researchers that included pollution data from the schools.

It may also help by reducing noise and encouraging physical activity, researchers said in a paper released Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Policy makers should know that “more green around the school is better for cognitive development and that they should make sure that kids can see and play in green areas,” one author, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen of the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, said in an email. . . .

Their analysis indicated that differences in socio-economic factors between schools did not account for the study outcome.

—“Study: Green Space Around Schools May Boost Mental Abilities.” The NY Times, 15 June 2015. Web. <http://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/15/science/ap-us-sci-schools-green-space.html?referrer=&_r=0>.

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