by Naomi Zürcher | Aug 29, 2017 | Survey
Treed residential street
West Virginia TCUSA iTree Canopy Survey – 08-17-2017
Now that i-Tree Eco is available throughout Europe (once local required data has been submitted, e.g. local air pollution stats), examples of how i-Tree is currently being used globally can provide interesting food for thought. The State of West Virginia conducted an i-Tree Canopy Survey, using data from 16 Tree City USA cities. Tree City USA is a national program that provides a framework for urban and community forestry management throughout the US. Many thanks to the authors of the study: Matthew Walker, Angela Sakazaki, Robert Eckenrode, Gregory Dahle as well as the West Virginia Division of Forestry, Urban Forestry for sharing the report with EFUF and to Greg Dahle for his assistance.
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.
