From Tree Inventories to Free Beer: Broadening Community Involvement in

Urban Forestry

Eric North- Research Fellow - nort0105@umn.edu -

Partners in Community Forestry November 2016

Learning Objectives• Gain insight into training volunteers for more complex tasks

• Translate your passion and interest in trees beyond tree enthusiasts

A Disastrous OpportunityCommunity Engagement and Preparedness (CEP)

Know Your Objectives!

Urban and Community Forestry

Inventory: Accuracy

Community: Engagement

Tree Inventories

• 14 Communities ~140 volunteers• Tree ID – Genus vs. Species• Tree measurements - DBH & Crown• Condition Rating – beyond good/fair • Data entry – paper to computers

InventoryPurpose?• Data• Continued involvement

Training

Technical Assistance

FieldClassroom

ManualsFirst approach

- Detailed specifics -62 pages, few images

Second approach - Less is more -

25 pages, many images

Tree IDFirst Approach

- Detailed, species level ID

Second Approach - Basics, genus level -

Tree Measurements• DBH and Crown Width

Condition Rating:Beyond – good/fair/poor

• Crown rating• Stem rating• Numeric scale

Data Entry

Web Resourceswww.mntreesource.com

Volunteer Performance:Raw data

Know your objectives:100% accuracy?

Value of Engagement

Volunteer Demographics

A Delicious Opportunity

• Minneapolis: 8,000 trees a year

• New tree survival• Craft breweries community-based

Program

Adoptions• ~500 individual adopters• Over 500 trees adopted• 7 breweries, 1 coffee shop• Other partners

Two Objectives:Increase young tree survival

&Urban forestry awareness

Brewing a Better Forest Adopters

Summary• Sustained programs

– Inventories, ongoing projects– Older, more established in the community

• Outreach programs– Tree watering, maybe tree planting– Younger, community establishment varies

• Lots of opportunity for community engagement with urban forestry

Thanks• Gary Johnson - Professor of Urban and Community Forestry

• Andi Dierich - DuPage County Environmental Coordinator (former Graduate student)

• Nick Bancks - Graduate student• Minnesota communities and the many volunteers, undergraduates

• University of Minnesota – Department of Forest Resources

• Minnesota DNR

- Eric North nort0105@umn.edu -- Department of Forest Resources -