Authors:Thomas V L El-Mallakh et al. Abstract: Distribution of urban tree canopies is generally not uniform. Multiple variables have been shown to be associated with tree canopy cover, including violence, health, and general well-being. Herein we examine the relationship of tree cover with intentional deaths. Suicide, homicide, and tree cover data were examined by ZIP code for Louisville, a mid-sized city in Kentucky. Relationship between intentional death (suicide and homicide) and tree cover was examined with Poisson regression analysis. In both univariate and multivariate models, suicides (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0005), homicides (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.03), and combination (P = 0.0541) were negatively associated with tree cover. In this exploratory study we have found that sparse canopy cover is associated with higher rates of intentional human death (both suicides and homicides). Given that suicides and homicides are relatively rare occurrences, these data suggest that larger samples be examined to confirm the relationship between intentional death and canopy cover. PubDate: Tue, 22 Mar 2022 13:37:55 PDT
Authors:Kathleen L. Wolf et al. Abstract: Natural area management and sustainability in cities is ever more reliant on civic environmental stewardship. Many conservation organizations sponsor stewardship programs that enlist volunteers to care for the land and restore urban ecosystems. Stewardship program success depends on alignment of individuals’ and sponsoring organizations’ goals. We conducted surveys with a sample of 165 volunteers across natural areas stewardship events in metropolitan King County (Washington, U.S.). An adapted Volunteer Functions Inventory framework was used to understand volunteers’ motivations, satisfactions, and volunteering history. Our findings confirmed the multidimensional dynamics of volunteerism, as stewardship volunteers were motivated and expressed satisfaction for practical altruism, social interactions, experiential learning and a sense of positive impact. High frequency volunteers expressed higher values across all satisfactions outcomes. People who participated in stewardship events closer to home indicated higher event-related social esteem and personal efficacy. Overall, volunteers were generally of greater education attainment, more affluent, and culturally identified as white at a higher rate than the region’s populace, suggesting the need for program innovations to improve stewardship participation diversity. Findings that differ from more general volunteer studies indicate volunteers’ concerns for other people and the environment, in the near term and as legacy for the future. Stewardship organizations’ programs are guided by goals and values. A systematic approach to knowledge building about volunteer motivations can inform more successful volunteer engagement, such as recruitment and retention. PubDate: Thu, 16 Dec 2021 10:43:38 PST
Authors:Dexter H. Locke et al. Abstract: Green infrastructure increasingly is used to ameliorate water quality and quantity problems caused by runoff in cities. Studies show how the spatial distribution of these Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) sites are unevenly distributed relative to socioeconomic and demographic groups. Often this is described as an indicator of perpetuated environment injustice, given the purported social and environmental benefits of GSI. To assess equity, researchers often examine either who gets what with respect to environmental ‘goods’ such as tree canopy and other green infrastructures, or investigate the procedures, decision making processes, and power structures pertaining to planning processes. This paper uses both spatial analyses to examine where GSI is located and who lives nearby in New Haven, CT, and illuminates the processes by which those locations were determined. An environmental injustice pattern was not observed: most GSI were located in low-income communities of color. However, the process that led to the siting had very little to do with who was living where. Instead, GSI siting decisions were determined by funding opportunities and their site selection criteria, flooding, combined sewer infrastructure, and avoiding infrastructure conflicts on a street segment. Future spatial analyses could consider the implicit or explicit baselines for equity in light of the processes and constraints that determine how and where GSI gets installed, and better incorporate the process of green infrastructure allocation in the chosen analytical metrics. By examining the process (ie the “how”) and the outcomes (ie the “what went where”) this study broadens the spatial analyses to include embedded knowledge from those who actually make the decisions that ultimately determine the location of GSI. PubDate: Thu, 16 Dec 2021 10:43:24 PST
Authors:Aurelia Passaseo et al. Abstract: Green roofs can provide food resources to several insect groups. For pollinators found in cities, as are wild bees and hoverflies, the existence of a wide variety of green infrastructures is crucial to ensure their development and survival. In order to investigate if wild bees and hoverflies use green roofs and how local and landscape factors influence their abundance and diversity, sampling of these insects was done in 2017 using cornet traps on extensive green roofs of two types: 1) urban green roofs (30% of green spaces in a 200m radius). There were 62 wild bee species and 10 hoverfly species identified during the 22-week sampling period. For the latter, no differences in richness and abundance were found between roofs and between roof types. Most hoverfly species were associated with xero-thermophilic habitats. Regarding wild bees, no difference in abundance and richness was observed between roofs. However, urban roofs showed significantly lower abundances compared to mixed landscape roofs. Local and landscape factors influenced the pollinator communities: the percentage of attractive plant species on roofs was positively correlated with the abundance of wild bees and the percentage of green areas in a 600 m radius was positively correlated with their richness. The traits analysis showed no difference between roofs and between roof types. Our results highlight the important role of green roofs in supplying food resources for urban pollinators instead of providing suitable nesting habitats. The abundance of attractive plant species for pollinators and diversified landscape surrounding green roofs seem to be key factors in order to promote these wild pollinators in cities. PubDate: Thu, 16 Dec 2021 10:43:10 PST
Authors:Tierney Bocsi et al. Abstract: Urban forests notoriously lack diversity in the biological communities that inhabit them, from the age and species composition of street trees to wildlife populations. In reaction to invasions of nonnative insects and diseases as well as predicted response to climate change, an emerging number of community foresters and tree wardens are expanding their urban tree planting practices to include a broader assemblage of tree species. These include oaks, among other species able to tolerate and adapt to urban conditions. Oaks are potentially favorable in regions like the northeastern U.S., where they grow extensively in rural forests and demonstrate potential resistance to specific urban pests that have caused challenges for other historically popular and extensively planted street trees. Additionally, they are known to feature a number of wildlife benefits, and their ranges in the Northeast are predicted to expand under many future climate change forecast models. We examine the role of oaks in the urban environment through the lens of the urban forest diversity deficit, reviewing topics that include diversity recommendations, threats by nonnative insects and diseases, and the human-wildlife interface. The goal of this work is to encourage careful consideration of where and when to plant oak trees to help professionals address issues of uniformity, while achieving benefits for urban forest ecosystems and residents. PubDate: Tue, 17 Aug 2021 10:55:27 PDT
Authors:Lindsay K. Campbell et al. Abstract: Coastal communities are threatened by extreme weather events in the form of storm surge and by frequent, chronic, or nuisance flooding. The physical damage of these events is vast and established in the literature; however, the social-emotional impacts are less well-documented. This pilot study sought to understand the impacts of tidal flooding on flood-prone communities in Queens, NY. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n=9) with civic science participants, we document flooding impacts, identify adaptations to flooding, and examine sources of information about flooding--including local networks and relationship to government. We found that participants are knowledgeable about and engaged with the processes, rhythms, and impacts of tidal flooding. Qualitative methods can be used to surface experiences of living with flooding and therefore inform planning processes. This work demonstrates the need to attune methods and data collection to better capture and understand lived experience, local ecological knowledge, and civic engagement--as these are crucial building blocks for strengthening social resilience. Finally, by rooting the research in civic science and a co-production approach, this study provides a starting point for building shared knowledge across different stakeholders to inform collaborative adaptation planning. Ultimately, we seek to better engage local knowledge -- including rich, qualitative data capturing lived experience -- into adaptation and resilience planning. PubDate: Thu, 29 Jul 2021 09:40:16 PDT
Authors:Josh Rosa Abstract: This essay examines pattern language design as a method of comprehensive environmental justice analysis. First, the essay describes common limitations of conventional methods of analysis, finding the interconnected problem-solution sequences described as pattern languages address most limitations. Next, the essay examines the potential for pattern language design, when paired with other methods, to equip local communities to more intelligently evaluate the actual equity impacts of environmental choices. PubDate: Thu, 29 Jul 2021 09:40:06 PDT
Authors:Johanna Stacy et al. Abstract: Streams in urbanizing watersheds often experience low flows in summer due to increased water use for residential landscaping and decreased base flow as impervious land cover limits aquifer recharge. Environmentally beneficial landscape practices that save water and infiltrate runoff have the potential to provide multiple ecological benefits including reducing stress on urban streams, but can face opposition by local homeowners. Thus, this study explored attitudes toward landscape water conservation including the barriers and motivations that exist to adoption of water conserving landscape practices by residents in the Ipswich River watershed north of Boston, Massachusetts (USA) that experiences seasonal water shortages. The study used a mail-out and on-line survey with images of different water conserving landscape practices (including rain gardens and native plantings) and questions about homeowners’ watering practices, likelihood of adopting these landscape practices, and attitudes towards environmental issues in the region, including existing water policies to restrict use. The results showed that residents (n=265) were aware of existing water shortages and supportive of water conservation policies. Their willingness to adopt water conserving landscape practices was influenced by aesthetic preference with more support for practices that appeared neat rather than those that appeared unkempt. Barriers to residential adoption of these landscape practices included concern about disease-carrying pests and the perceived cost of landscape change. Knowledge about the environment, as operationalized by membership in a local watershed association, as well as educational attainment and income were statistically significant variables in predicting aesthetic preferences and willingness to adopt landscape practices. Promoting widespread adoption of water conserving landscape practices could benefit from local community support and educational initiatives about the multiple-benefits of these practices, including potential long-term cost savings for homeowners. Residential landscape design and management, however, are only part of overarching policy changes that could address water conservation in urbanizing watersheds. PubDate: Tue, 27 Jul 2021 17:39:06 PDT
Authors:Elvira G. Armas et al. Abstract: Teams from the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) and the Center for Urban Resilience (CURes) at Loyola Marymount University collaborated on multi-year projects to implement the Urban Ecology for English Learners Projects designed to implement a professional learning and curriculum model to explicitly engage students in experiences where they learn science content through investigations of their local schoolyards and neighborhoods while simultaneously advancing language and literacy skills. This partnership empowers educators to leverage the interdisciplinary science of urban ecology and resilience as a way to democratize access and opportunity for English Learner students in diverse urban settings. PubDate: Thu, 17 Dec 2020 15:20:55 PST
Authors:Kaitlyn Pike et al. Abstract: In this paper, we examine the mechanisms of volunteering at tree-planting events conducted as part of a new, multi-organizational tree-planting effort in northwest Indiana called CommuniTree. A broad literature exists on general volunteerism as well as environmental volunteering, urban forestry volunteering, and even tree-planting volunteering. Yet, the motivations, environmental attitudes, and personal efficacy of urban forestry volunteers in particular are not fully understood, nor are the outcomes and implications of volunteer participation in neighborhood greening programs. A 22-question (34 individual items), self-report survey was administered in-person at CommuniTree tree-planting events in 2017 through 2019, obtaining 114 responses. CommuniTree volunteers who responded to our survey are mostly white, male, full-time students of college age (18-24), who came to the tree planting by way of their university professor or a friend or family member telling them about it. Volunteers who completed our survey were motivated by intrinsic factors including a desire to help the community and a desire to help the environment, as well as extrinsic factors such as to complete community service hours, receive school-related extra credit, or as required through their employer’s partnership with CommuniTree. Additionally, volunteers report high rates of pro-environmental behavior, a high-level understanding of environmental issues, and high personal efficacy. Here, we frame our results in terms of the Volunteer Process Model’s three phases of volunteerism, and thereby consider the antecedents or prior conditions, experiences, and consequences or outcomes of volunteering in the context of respondent motivations, attitudes, knowledge, personal efficacy, and self-reported benefits and drawbacks of trees. PubDate: Thu, 17 Dec 2020 15:20:42 PST
Authors:John S. Brush et al. Abstract: Urbanization and its associated processes affect wildlife in a variety of ways. Understanding how this increasing land use type affects biological communities is important for conservation efforts. Hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) are one taxon that has showed positive responses to varying intensities of urban development. We surveyed for Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis), a species on its northern range-limits, in urban woodlands, residential, natural, and revegetated habitats. We examined how urbanization is affecting Buff-bellied Hummingbird populations in South Texas with point-count surveys and GIS analysis. We found that Buff-bellied Hummingbirds had greater relative abundances in urban settings when compared with peri-urban habitats, and were more likely to be found with increasing impervious cover. Our results support the growing literature showing how, in some species, urbanization can have positive impacts. PubDate: Thu, 17 Dec 2020 15:20:25 PST
Authors:Nichole Henderson-Roy et al. Abstract: The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) manages 7,300-acres of natural area forests by hands-on work of professional staff and volunteer stewards. Through NYC Parks’ Stewardship program, trained staff engage over 8,000 volunteers annually, many of them working in natural area forests removing invasive plants, planting, and formalizing trails throughout the city. Here we discuss the evolution of Parks’ community stewardship through a highly publicized tree planting campaign, the campaign’s conclusion and its newest approach to forest management. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:39 PDT
Authors:Helen M. Forgione Abstract: New York City contains 10,000 acres of forested natural areas, 8.5 million residents, and dozens of organizations dedicated to improving the condition of natural areas. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) manages the majority 7,300-acres of natural area forests through hands-on work and contracts overseen by the Division of Forestry, Horticulture and Natural Resources. Additional capacity to manage and steward NYC Parks’ forest resources is created through nurturing community organizations by the non-profit Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC). Here I discuss how NAC’s Conservancy Engagement Program is aligning forest management under NYC’s forest management plan to care for the forest. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:35 PDT
Authors:Heather Bilden et al. Abstract: Billings, MT was established in 1882 concurrent with the newly arrived railroad, which displaced the Yellowstone River as the area’s economic engine. For a century, Billings was dominated by ranching, agriculture, mining and refining. As the only major city in 125,000 square-miles, it is now a hub of commerce, education, and medical services. It has recently become a center for natural resource agencies and NGOs. Demand for quality of life amenities and local expertise to provide them has contributed to the rediscovery of the river as an ecological and recreational gem. This interest has led to the development of a Natural Areas management program in city wildland areas. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:32 PDT
Authors:Katherine J. Lautar Abstract: In 2012, three groups of neighbors from different Baltimore, MD communities reached out individually for assistance in cleaning up, protecting, and/or improving their community forests. In response, Baltimore Green Space (BGS) launched the forest stewardship network which included both neighbors and experts in forestry. The forest stewardship program hinges on cultivating resident interest, fostering collaborations, and conducting leadership development with community members, which involves over 300 neighbors in forest environmental engagements each year in 10-12 forest patches. BGS uses the term “environmental engagement” to describe a wide range of offerings that help to either educate the community about the environment and/or engage them with the environment. Our work with forest stewards inspired original research, which concluded that 20% of Baltimore’s Tree Canopy is in forest patches outside of parks—subsequent research was conducted in 100 of those forested spaces. A partnership with University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the US Forest Service continues to grow this dataset. These patches provide distributed access to natural environments in neighborhoods and are located throughout the city, excluding the most developed area in downtown Baltimore. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:29 PDT
Authors:James Duncan et al. Abstract: Pine rocklands are a globally critically imperiled ecosystem with limited geographic range, characterized by a high biodiversity of endemic herbaceous plants and frequent fire intervals (2-5 years). In Miami-Dade County, approximately 2% of the forest outside Everglades National Park (ENP) remains. The County adopted a forest property tax program in 1979, passed a forest preservation ordinance in 1984, and created a land acquisition program in 1991. Outreach and filling in the gaps between preservation areas are critical for the survival of a number of species. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:25 PDT
Authors:Ashley A. Bowers et al. Abstract: Organizations and city agencies in Baltimore, MD are working together to better protect forests and trees through a combination of preservation efforts, policies, and regulations. Non-profit Baltimore Green Space (BGS), Baltimore’s Department of Recreation and Parks (BCRP), and Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability (BOS) have played major roles in this work. To further advance these efforts, a process is underway to propose new regulations that would better protect and mitigate impacts of development on trees and forested natural areas. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:21 PDT
Authors:Keith W. Mars Abstract: The City of Austin has some of the most progressive urban forest and environmental land development regulations in the country. The City directly protects trees and forested natural areas through tree preservation ordinances and indirectly through development restrictions on impervious cover, endangered species habitat, and limiting development in environmentally sensitive areas. This suite of regulations has contributed to an overall canopy coverage of 37% with much of that canopy preserved in perpetuity despite Austin being one of the fastest growing cities in the country. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:18 PDT
Authors:Robert John Northrop Abstract: Successful conservation of forested natural areas within a matrix of urban land uses requires an ongoing collaborative relationship between private citizens, their governments, and scientists. Such collaboration requires an understanding of the social values which drive political decision making, an understanding of the function and processes that govern the natural area, and ecosystem management. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:15 PDT
Authors:Lydia Scott et al. Abstract: The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is a partnership of more than 200 organizations across the seven county Chicago metro region. The CRTI believes that trees are critical to our quality of life, and its mission is to ensure that trees are more healthy, abundant, diverse, and equitably distributed to provide needed benefits to all people and communities in the Chicago region. Our key goals are to inspire people to value trees, increase the Chicago region’s tree canopy, reduce threats to trees, and enhance oak ecosystems. The CRTI has built upon the work and programs of others, and the experience of partners to shape the urban forest in the Chicago region by 2050. PubDate: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:56:11 PDT
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