Researchers at the University of Connecticut figured out a way to peer beneath Connecticut’s forest canopy to create a massive map of understory plant species. By using satellite imagery from a narrow observation window they could catch leaf-on understory before the leaves of trees arrived and blocked out the view. The applications of this method are still being explored, but it's clearly a big step forward as the state grapples with invasive understory species like barberry and bittersweet.
AIPH World Green City Awards 2024 Accepting Submissions
Get recognition for your urban nature work. Applications are being accepted for the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) World Green Cities Awards. Cities large and small are invited to showcase their urban nature solutions by entering the 2024 awards. Submission deadline is September 15th, 2023
Your Trees Need a Little Love (and Water) During Dry Spells
If you planted new trees this spring or last fall, bring out the garden hose! This is a notice from the Michigan DNR, but we are well into summer so many of us should take heed. A little water will keep those establishing trees healthy and happy during these hot and dry months
Three half-day events packed with presentations on technology, trees, data, and the future of urban forestry decision-making. Presenters across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors will introduce and analyze the software, hardware, and data changing the way they work. Presentations at the ISA Trees + Tech Summit include:
Tree Equity: Resident-Focused Urban Forestry
Leveraging Tree Canopy Data to Drive Urban Forestry Policy
Why We Ranked World’s Cities On Green Space
A Multi-Year Volunteer Tree Inventory Project In Santa Fe
Leveraging Tree Inventory Data in Albuquerque
From Tree to Board: Leveraging Asset Data Across the Tree Lifecycle
The Little-Known Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Urban Trees
We never tire of sharing the benefits of trees. There's so much good to recognize! This review from Yale Climate Connections cites a great range of physical and mental health benefits of urban trees.
Creating the Right Change With Urban Forestry Funding
Jad Daley joined Dr. Nadina Galle to discuss the causes of the U.S. forestry funding windfall and what it could and should look like to use these dollars to rebalance systemic inequities. Our latest blog expands on their conversation.
Many of us suffered last week through day after day of record high average temperatures. Now imagine it had been 10 percent hotter where you live. Those places with minimal tree canopy experience significantly higher temperatures than green neighborhoods just miles away. That’s true in big cities and small cities alike.
Minneapolis has a program to quench the thirst of their street trees and residents at the same time. The Brewing a Better Forest program rewards volunteers who agree to regularly water a street tree with tokens for free beer or coffee. This creative incentive has helped thousands of urban trees get a weekly 20-gallon drink this summer.
Neighborhoods in Mass. Could Get More Shade from Trees Under New Climate Bill
We're keeping eye on a bill proposed in Massachusetts to give funding to all cities and towns to develop their own reforestation plans, with a priority towards communities with low canopy cover. The bill also establishes a state urban forest advisory council to guide municipalities in crafting a funding formula.
When development fragments forests into patches, carefully preserved strips of land can be difference maker in keeping wildlife around. Researchers mapped the importance of these wildlife corridors in Ohio using sightings of woodpeckers
