Creating More Equitable Urban Forests by Understanding and Responding to Historical Trauma By Christine E. Carmichael, Ph.D., Founder and Principal, Fair Forests Consulting, LLC For the last couple of decades, research documenting inequitable urban forest coverage by race and income in the United States has grown. Far from being an issue relegated to one city … Read more…
Each fall, members of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) nominate and vote for the SMA Urban Tree of the Year. Tree species or cultivars of species native to the U.S. Midwest, South, and East have dominated the Urban Tree of the Year program in its 25-year history (see past winners here). For 2021, SMAers … Read more…
Recommended Reading Georgia Silvera Seamans Essay on Medium: “The Risks and Rewards of Being Black in Nature” Georgia Silvera Seamans is the co-founding director of Washington Square Park Eco Projects in Manhattan’s storied park. She is an urban forester, independent researcher, and writer. Georgia’s research has been published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening and Journal of Arboriculture, … Read more…
This webinar is hosted by Southern Adirondack ReLeaf and is free and open to all. 10/28 9 AM Southern Adirondack ReLeaf – Building and maintaining your healthy community forest Registration Link: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/onstage/g.php?MTID=ecb9b4b40ae24efe4267132ebeea8cbce Join NY ReLeaf for a webinar on building and maintaining your healthy community forest! Starting a new program or maintaining a fledgling program to care … Read more…
The past few months have highlighted the importance of parks and nature in cities. Urban natural areas are critical as refugia, protecting biodiversity and mitigating the impacts of climate change all while contributing to the health and wellbeing of nearby residents. However, natural areas are threatened by development as city populations grow, and are susceptible … Read more…
Each fall, members of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) nominate and vote for the SMA Urban Tree of the Year. You can see a list of winners going back to 1996 here. Here’s a reflection on the 2020 SMA Urban Tree of the Year, hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), from New York Tree Trust Development Director … Read more…
Through EPF grants, the community of Akwesasne and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Forestry Resources Department performed a tree inventory and created the 2018 Akwesasne Community Forest Management Plan. The Plan presents the tree inventory data and an i-Tree Eco analysis of that data, and it provides direction for the stewards of the community forest … Read more…
DEC ANNOUNCES $2.24 MILLION IN URBAN FORESTRY GRANTS AWARDED TO PROJECTS STATEWIDE Funding Supports Tree Plantings and Projects to Protect Air Quality, Water Quality and Natural Resources New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos recently announced $2.24 million in grants for urban forestry projects to protect air quality, water quality, and … Read more…
Prospect Park and Prospect Park Alliance Facts September 14, 2018 Through a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Prospect Park Alliance recently surveyed roughly 12,000 of the park’s 30,000 trees as part of its work in caring for the Park’s natural areas. The survey not only provides a … Read more…
Calls, emails, letters, and in-person visits to federal legislators by advocates for Urban and Community Forestry have paid off! You’ll recall President Trump’s proposed FY 18 Budget zeroed out funding for UCF. Citizens and UCF advocacy groups sprung into action to educate our representatives in Congress about the myriad quantifiable benefits of the urban forest, … Read more…