The European Forest Institute (EFI), the European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) and the Horizon 2020 CLEARING HOUSE project invite you to two days of integrated activities on urban forestry (March 23-24 2021). This on-line event is targeted at advanced practitioners, established researchers, sector leading policymakers and those wishing to learn of the latest developments in Europe and beyond. A special focus for this conference is Sino-Europe collaboration. The conference will be run in English with Mandarin translation.
Day one is themed on integrated urban forest management with a focus on the ‘sustainable transition of cities’ and ‘urban forestry and the pillars of sustainability’. In addition to keynote speakers, ‘a tour of management models’ with leading practitioners will cover different European bioregions and beyond. You can also attend a ‘virtual fieldtrip’ with ‘live stream Q&A’ from a peri-urban forest near Bonn in Germany.
Day two is themed on urban forests and health infrastructure. Keynote speakers will outline what medical science is telling us about forests as health infrastructure followed by a thematic workshop on ‘forests and urban greenspaces in pandemic times’. The second day will also see the launch of EFUF 2021; a decentralised networking programme running from March to May 2021 with many diverse events. The new EFUF App will also be unveiled at the conference.
Further details and details of the registration process will be issued in January 2021. Check the EFI and EFUF websites for further announcements.
This CLEARING HOUSE project has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242
England’s Community Forests have been early adoptors and frontrunners regarding community and #urbanforestry in Europe. Great to see they are continuing their wonderful work with a new 12 million GBP grant.
There is increasing recognition of the important contribution of trees, parks, gardens, and other natural settings to public health and community welfare. By improving air quality, promoting physical activity, reducing mental stress and enhancing the immune system, trees and green space have the potential to help address problems ‘upstream’, through prevention – a more efficient approach than simply dealing with the ‘downstream’ consequences of ill health.
In this event we will discuss the role that urban forests and trees can play in improving health outcomes, reduce the harmful impact of the current COVID19 pandemic, and make urban dwellers more resilient and better prepared for future events of this nature.
Keynote speaker: Prof Pedro Calaza (Dean of the College of Agriculture Engineers, Galicia, Spain)
The European Forum on Urban Forestry would have convened in Manchester within 2 weeks. A small virus decided otherwise. But to get a flavour of the great work people at the City of Trees are doing, you can join the Launching Webinar of the Greater Manchester’s Tree and Woodland Strategy. This document will collectively guide the involved actors to improve the way in which they plant and manage trees and direct them to where new tree planting will provide the most benefits for generations to come.
The COVID 19 pandemic is transforming our society. All the basic elements of living together have radically changed in the past weeks: Where and how we work, whom we spend time with, whom we care about, what tasks and activities keep us busy. During the lockdown those that can, have been flocking into green spaces and urban forests for physical exercise and mental calming. At least this applies to those who are not locked down totally. Recent charts by Google, for instance, show an impressive increase of mobility toward places like national parks, public beaches, marinas, dog parks, plazas, and public gardens, amidst a general fall in mobility trends (e.g. the case of Germany).
Read more on the blog of the CLEARING HOUSE-project.