The Stillmeadow Peace Park is a perfect case study of the connective power of an urban forest. Through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the Stillmeadow Community Fellowship revived 10 acres of neglected forest next to their church. Community volunteers and Forest Service scientists worked together to replace EAB-riddled ash trees and choking invasive vines with diverse native trees, walking paths, and meditation stations. Now the Peace Park acts as a retreat, a community service center, a research station, and an outdoor classroom for children of all ages.
This year PlanIT Geo is hosting three Trees + Tech Summits to engage a global audience of experts and practitioners in a discussion of technology, data, trees, and the future of urban forestry decision-making. Presenters will showcase how new technology and strategies are helping solve common urban forestry challenges, along with case studies and actionable steps for putting these ideas to work in your community’s forest.
UK Tree Officers National Diversity and Inclusion Report
Tree Officers across the UK were surveyed to establish a demographic profile and learn more about professional barriers and career progression. The results confirmed what many know anecdotally: our industry is not representative of the population we serve in the areas of gender and ethnicity. Check out the report for the full results and suggested actions by the Association of Tree Officers.
PowerCorps Boston Provides Training in Urban Forestry
"A perfect merger of needs", PowerCorps Boston is a six-month 'earn-and-learn' green-jobs training program that pays members to participate in hands-on training to prepare them for living-wage careers. They are building out various green jobs tracks, with urban forestry as a main track. "What we’re trying to develop is giving them the skills to get into a tree-climber-trainee position at a private company or municipality.”
June 28 - This webinar will look at how statewide inventories in Oregon and Wisconsin guide high-level state management decisions and empower individual communities. Guests Scott Altenhoff, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Dan Buckler, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, will outline how their statewide inventories were launched and the benefits and challenges of creating these massive datasets.
Natural Climate Solutions: Linking Urban Forestry and Climate Action
The nature-based solutions concept is building political and financial momentum and that has helpful ramifications for urban forestry.
Our latest blog looks at what climate change policy has gotten wrong, what natural climate solutions get's right, and how it can bolster urban forestry initiatives moving forward
Planting Trees to Fight Pollution and Racism in Bayview Hunters Point
Bayview Hunters Point is one of the less forested parts of San Francisco, but the community is working to change that. This radio story takes you into the streets, schoolyards, and backyards, where residents are working hard to overcome the long shadow of redlining and grow a thriving urban canopy.
We’re Going to Need So Many Seedlings for the Reforestation Push
There's so much seedling demand to fill, and state tree nurseries are being pushed to scale up fast. “Helping states get where they need to be is going to be cheaper and more efficient and is going to meet our goals and needs faster, than if the Forest Service tried to build these nurseries ourselves.”
Residents are Helping Catalog Charlotte's Shrinking Tree Canopy
Charlotte, North Carolina is teaching residents how to inventory trees and upload their findings into the City's TreePlotter page. This helps expand the city's 185,000+ inventory to cover more private trees, which provides invaluable feedback to the City's tree management team.
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