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.
Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/500-hectare-planting-boost-for-englands-community-forests
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)
Panel speakers: Prof Dr Anna Jorgensen (University of Sheffield), Dr Danijela Puric-Mladenovic (University of Toronto), Prof Dr Giuseppe Carrus (Universita Roma Tre), Dr Ben Wheeler (University of Exeter)
Date & Time: 17 September, 14:00 – 15:30 CEST
Register here
Graphics by Miroslava Chrienova via Pixabay
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.
The organisers of the 23rd European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) in Manchester, UK regret to announce that the Forum meeting scheduled for the 19th – 23rd May 2020 has been postponed due to increasing concern of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The outbreak is already affecting travel plans and a willingness for delegates to travel during the current outbreak. A number of travel restrictions are in place, students are being recalled and flights to several destinations cancelled. Whilst progress of the epidemic is uncertain the UK government policy is to first contain then delay the onset of the epidemic. Reports suggest that the peak for COVID-19 in the UK may happen in April and/or May 2020, regretfully coinciding with EFUF.
Plans are being developed for a reorganised event in autumn 2020 and further details of this will be released in due course. If you have submitted a proposal for a conference oral presentation or poster presentation, these are now ‘on hold’ and will be subject to ‘further review’ when details of the reorganised event are known. You do not need to take any further action on these currently and will be informed in due course if your presentation is still possible at the reorganised Forum.
We thank you for your understanding which has been driven by exceptional circumstances beyond our control.
Please visit the EFUF 2020 website (http://efuf2020.org.uk) or EFUF main website (http://www.efuf.org) for further details of the reorganised event as these become available.
The Geographic Arboretum of Tervuren is a hidden gem at the heart of the Sonian Forest near Brussels. Its collection includes 30,000 trees and shrubs over 120 ha, representing over 600 species originating in 80 different forest types of the northern hemisphere. The selected plants are grouped together in a manner that replicates the typical forest landscape of the region of origin.
In their new book about the Geographic Arboretum of Tervuren, the arboretum managers – Patrick Huvenne (former EFUF delegate), Kevin Knevels and Wilfried Emmerechts – share their know-how and passion. They guide us through the amazing diversity of forests in America, Europe and Asia. They explain the specialised problems of managing a living collection of this kind and outline the challenges of sustainable forest management in an era of climate change. Their texts are supplemented with a large number of maps, graphs and historical documents.
The book will be published in May 2020 and will be available for 40 EUR (in Dutch, French, English and German). A pre-sale offer at 35 EUR (free shipping included) is available for those who order their copy through info-at-arboretum-tervuren.be (mention name, address and prefered language).
More information in the flyer.
Happy Christmas from the EFUF team! Our Christmas present to our followers is the extended deadline for submitting abstracts for the upcoming EFUF2020 conference in Manchester.
Please see our original post on the topics and requirements.
Title: Health Benefits of City Trees: Research Evidence & Economic Values
Date & Time: Tuesday, 19 November, 7:00PM BST, 8:00PM CEST, 9:00PM EEST.
Dear Colleagues:
An ever-growing, international body of research points to many human health and wellness benefits that result from nearby nature experiences. But what about trees? Two recent reviews have explored, first, the studies that focus on the urban forest and health response, and second, on the economics of human health effects. In this webinar, co-sponsored by Utah State University Forestry Extension and the Tree Fund, Dr. Kathleen Wolf will share the highlights of both reviews.
View Dr. Wolf’s research focused on human dimensions of urban forestry and urban ecosystems at www.naturewithin.info; and the Green Cities: Good Health project at: www.greenhealth.washington.edu
Presented by: Dr Kathleen Wolf, Research Social Scientist, College of the Environment , University of Washington – Seattle.
Where: PRE-REGISTRATION is required for this session in order to provide the most streamlined user experience. TO REGISTER, PLEASE VISIT https://extension.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TMumkji3S9-t5Jih7FJUSw
The 2020 European Forum on Urban Forestry invites researchers and urban forest professionals to submit abstracts for contributions. This includes – but is not limited to – applied as well as academic research, and perspectives/experience reports of professionals and practitioners. EFUF emphasizes the connection of practice and scientific knowledge, encouraging a variety of possible formats to contribute to the conference.
In 2020 we are encouraging contributions that explore the urban forest through three themes:
We accept oral talks, posters and other non-commercial contributions. Abstracts (maximum 2500 characters including spaces) are only accepted in English language. They must not include figures, tables or attachment and should be related to one of the above themes. Deadline for submission is 1st of February 2020 (extended deadline).
For abstract submission, please use the online system: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=efuf2020. You will have to setup an account (accounts from previous conferences can be re-used).
The programme committee will determine whether a work will be accepted for presentation, considering the significance and/or the innovative character of the contribution. Authors will be informed on the acceptance of their contribution by the 21st of February 2020.
At least one of the authors should register for the conference, and should have their fee settled by 30 April 2020.
Read the flyer for more details.
Attendance at EFUF 2020 is also an opportunity to learn more about the new Sino-Europe CLEARING HOUSE project which is exploring the role of urban forestry as a nature based solution. Key team members will be present to answer your questions and explain more about the four year project.
August 2019 UF Webinar
Title: Quantifying Rainfall Interception in the Urban Canopy
Date & Time: Wednesday, 14 August, 6:00PM BST, 7:00PM CEST, 8:00PM EEST.
Urban stormwater is a major contributor to surface water degradation, prompting cities to invest in green infrastructure – methods that naturally capture, store, and slowly release runoff, such as urban trees.
While rainfall interception for full canopy environments is well studied, limited research is available that characterizes the interception of open-grown trees, which are commonly found in urban areas.
Join Jon Hathaway as he shares preliminary results from his research that studies the effect of rainfall event duration, intensity and seasonal variations on the interception potential of urban trees in Knoxville Tennessee.
Presenter: Jon Hathaway, University of Tennessee, USDA Forest Service National Urban Forest Technology & Science Delivery Team
Connect to the webinar via the following link 15 minutes before start of Webinar: