Urban Ecology Collaborative: A Multi-City Learning Network
Colleen Murphy-Dunning, Hixon Center for Urban Ecology | Michael Leff, The Davey Institute | Phillip Rodbell, USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area
Urban Ecology Collaborative: A Multi-City Learning Network
1. Urban Ecology Collaborative
Partners in Community Forestry Conference
Phil Rodbell
USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area
Michael Leff
USFS / The Davey Institute
Colleen Murphy-Dunning
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Cultivating healthy, safe and vibrant
cities through collective learning and
united action
2.
3.
Baltimore: Parks and People Foundation
Boston: Urban Ecology Institute/Boston College, Natural Cities Program partners
New Haven: Urban Resources Initiative/Yale University, New Haven Ecology Project
New York City: Parks and Recreation Programs and Citywide Non-Profits
Pittsburgh: Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy,
3 Rivers 2nd Nature (Carnegie-Melon University), Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Western Region
Washington, DC: Casey Trees, Urban Forestry Administration
Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Providence: City Parks Dept
Strategic Partners: USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station and
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
4. Early goals of
the UEC:
Multi-city
network for
urban ecosystem
research and
restoration
Complete “tools”
for effectively
addressing
common urban
ecosystem
problems
Develop an integrated “toolkit” for standardizing, evaluating, and
sharing these tools
Launch a national clearinghouse of urban ecosystem data
5. Initial UEC Committee Structure
Executive Committee consisting of 1 representative from
each city, plus working committees:
WORKING COMMITTEES
Leadership for community
development and
stewardship: education
Leadership for community
development and
stewardship: job training
Restoration tools
Multi-city research
agenda and database
development
6.
Collaborative model development MERGE:
Methods for Engaging Residents and Grassroots in
the Environment
Model replication involves the adoption of one
city’s successful program by another. URI
Community Greenspace program replicated in
Boston (CityRoots, 2003) and Pittsburgh
(GreenLinks, 2003)
Model Sharing included inventories,
monitoring/evaluation and UTC
14.
Develop and administer a survey to assess local
priority concerns
Host six forums in the UEC cities to create dialogue
about outreach techniques
Implement pilot projects to apply outreach
methods
Share our findings to other cities and partners in
the region
16.
Overall, the participants were motivated:
◦ by the social aspects of getting involved
◦ the idea that it was the right thing to do and a good thing
to do for the community
◦ usually not motivated by just one reason and address many
different desires when participating in these community
projects
17. 1)
2)
3)
Organizations that work with citizen groups look
toward the citizens for input on outreach
strategies
Investing in outreach is as important as investing
in planting and maintenance
Tailor outreach message and method
18.
19.
20.
21.
Restoration Tools ⇒ Urban Forestry
Municipal and nonprofit reps, plus USFS
“Coalition of the Willing”
Staggered rotating co-chairs
Workhorse website fell off, LinkedIn launched
Dues structure in question
Peer-to-peer learning, tech transfer, and support
Wide-open opportunities for collaboration
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28. Urban Ecology Collaborative
Partners in Community Forestry Conference
Phil Rodbell
USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area
Michael Leff
USFS / The Davey Institute
Colleen Murphy-Dunning
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Cultivating healthy, safe and vibrant
cities through collective learning and
united action
Editor's Notes
The detailed nature of the land cover mapping supports summarizing the information at multiple scales.
High-resolution land cover is the basis for a UTC assessment. The land cover mapping is standardized for each community. What communities do with the data may differ.
Baltimore Metro RegionParcels are typically the finest unit of analysis.
Tree canopy summarized by parcel
In Pittsburgh tree canopy was summarized at the neighborhood level.
..and then compared to surface temperature to clearly show the impact tree canopy has on the urban heat island.
Philadelphia, PATree canopy metrics were computed for all US Census Block Groups within the city, allowing the tree canopy metrics to be integrated with socio-demographic data collected by the US Census. This type of information can help to inform tree planting initiatives by providing proxies for environmental justice (Existing TC %) and stewardship potential (% renter occupied and % vacant). Census block group 421010046001 is within the Girard Estates Neighborhood. Tree canopy is only 8% of the land area and Possible Tree Canopy is 59%. While most of the households are owner-occupied there are a relatively high percentage of vacant housing units.