by Rik De Vreese | Apr 11, 2017 | EFUF2017
The European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) celebrates its 20th anniversary in the metropolis of Barcelona. The congress is open to researchers and professionals from Europe who are interested in reflecting on the urban forest fringe areas as spaces of opportunities that can be connected with and contribute to the territory. Twenty-first century cities have transformed their way of thinking: they have abandoned the idea of a central city with peripheral areas to now view the metropolis as a territorial mosaic of spaces, corridors and flows; a biophysical matrix where green infrastructure structures the territory to the detriment of the role of large transport infrastructure, and where spaces at the edge, on the limit, stop being administrative lines and begin to be seen as strategic spaces for ecology, leisure and production.
Under the title: “Urban Forest Boundaries. Within, between and beyond the city” we raise the importance of urban and peri-urban forests in building a sustainable and healthy landscape. We address issues such as ecological connectivity, compatibility of ecosystem services, biodiversity and disturbances, and the social aspects of forest management and planning those fringe areas in collaboration with the new culture of leisure. For all the above, we invite you to participate in our Congress, so that together we can address the latent problems in the contact and interaction between two realities destined to coexist: the city and open spaces.
More information at efuf2017.amb.cat
Register at http://formacio.ctfc.cat/inscripcions/efuf2017/inscripcio_en.php.
by Rik De Vreese | Apr 10, 2017 | EFUF2017, Survey
In anticipation of the European Forum on Urban Forestry 2017 in Barcelona, a core group of EFUFers have been discussing the state of Urban Forestry in Europe. It seems that Urban Forestry has been too underrepresented and disconnected in Europe. While the European Forum on Urban Forestry has hosted annual Forums for the past 19 years, that’s not enough to fill the void that the rest of the year leaves. Given the growing prominence of Urban Forestry in dealing with urban quality-of-life and climate change issues, the core group suggested to increase the presence of EFUF through a web-driven Urban Forest network, connecting the diverse disciplines that Urban Forest planning, design and management embraces.
In order to determine the direction that such a web presence should take and to find out more about the future role of EFUF, a short questionnaire was created to assess the ideas of professionals, who have an interest in Urban Forestry. The questionnaire was sent out in January and closed in March 2017. It was sent to 677 professionals from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Northern and Southern America. The survey registered 276 visits (41%); 170 people responded completely (response-rate of 25%). 82% of the respondents are actually working in Europe.
- 38% of the respondents are female; 48% have a master degree. 45% are working in science and research. 25% of the respondents consider their professional experience as “early career”; 72% indicate “Urban Forestry” as their thematic focus. 44% of the respondents didn’t attend a forum yet; 61% intend to attend a future forum.
- 72% of the respondents think, the forum should be held annually. Sharing of knowledge and exchange between science and practice are considered very important. The respondents wish a sort of continuous organisation with a board, a secretary and an attractive web-presence. Working groups are also considered as very important.
- The benefits of a membership approach are considered in providing contacts and good examples and in early access to new knowledge. 60% are willing to pay a yearly fee for such an association of at least 40 Euro.
The survey showed a big interest in future forums as well in an EFUF-organisation that assures a continuous presence in the web and provides the members with information on a regular basis.
Building on the conclusions of the survey, the core group will present a roadmap at the Barcelona EFUF.
For further details: see the survey report.
by Rik De Vreese | Feb 10, 2017 | Events
The Online iTree Workshop will showcase community projects that have utilized i-Tree in analyzing and reporting information on the trees growing in these settings. Various i-Tree tools were used to tell stories, present information and help develop strategies in these communities. This online workshop will introduce these success stories to you during the web program.
i-Tree 2017 is a state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that provides urban forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools. The i-Tree Tools help communities of all sizes to strengthen their urban forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the structure of community trees and the environmental services that trees provide.
Time: 1 pm Eastern Standard Time (New York) – 7 pm Western Europe, 6 pm UK
Register here: link
More information on iTree: itreetools.org.
by Rik De Vreese | Jan 19, 2017 | Articles
Prof. Dr. Francesco Ferrini (Dept. of Agro-Food & Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Italy), is a frequent contributor to scientific Journals and the extensive Urban Forestry and Aboricultural body of knowledge. In this ISA Conference presentation paper, originally presented at the 2015 International Society of Arboriculture annual Conference in Orlando, Florida USA, Dr. Ferrini discusses that body of knowledge through the categorization of historical and existing scientific literature as well as future research needs, determined by various surveys and questionnaires with a strong focus on the effect that Climate Change will have on urban tree well-being and Urban Forest management.
You can read the full article on the website of our colleagues at the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture): http://www.isa-arbor.com/events/schedule/resources/167/Ferrini_Arborization.pdf.
Prof. Ferrini’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-ferrini-57b0025
Contributed by Naomi Zurcher.
by Rik De Vreese | Jan 12, 2017 | EFUF2017
Welcome to the twentieth edition of the European Forum on Urban Forestry that will take place in Barcelona from May 31 to June 2 2017. We invite you to participate in what is going to be an event of reference in the field of open spaces in metropolitan areas and, this year, on its limits considered as spaces of opportunity to connect and structure the territory.
Under the heading “Urban Forest Boundaries Within, between and beyond the city”, we lay on the table the importance of urban and periurban forests in order to build up a sustainable and healthy landscape. We address issues such as ecological connectivity, the compatibility of ecosystem services, biodiversity and disturbances, and issues like the social component of forest management or the planning of the limits in connection with the new culture of leisure. For that reason, we invite you to participate in the Congress so that we can raise together the latent problematics in spaces of contact and interaction between two realities which destiny is to live together: the city and the open spaces.
In this context, we invite you to submit your summaries to the “Call for papers 2017″ and to share your experiences, projects and knowledge on open metropolitan spaces. The forum is addressed to researchers and professionals working on the mentioned issues. Depending on their proposals, they will be asked to participate in a round table, to perform a Pechakucha presentation or to defend a poster.
You have time until next February 28!
