The Northeast Center for Urban and Community Forestry was formally established in October 1996 and has begun to work on the development of several programs that can serve as models for the region. Included in this work has been the development of a draft training workbook for community tree inventory volunteers, the establishment of a useful methodology for the assessment of tree values, providing technical and logistical support to professional organizations, support and participation in regional community forestry councils and meetings, the facilitation of several community based street and park tree inventories, and working to establish partnerships between the Northeast Center and several municipalities, Universities, and other educational institutions.
 
 
 

Technical Assistance

The work of the Northeast Center for Urban and Community Forestry, has aimed to provide the development of models that can be used in other communities, regions, or states served by the Center. During the months of operation, the Center's activities have focused on Technical Assistance and Technology Transfer. The following outlines some of the Center's accomplishments to date.Urban Forest Resource Inventories - The Center has worked toward the refinement of urban forest inventory procedures, focusing on the implementation of model procedures in three states, while providing technical assistance to the communities in which the inventories were completed. Street tree inventories, utilizing community volunteers, in S. Kingstown, RI, Stamford, CT, and Allston-Brighton, MA, were coordinated by the Northeast Center. In addition, an inventory of all parks 5 acres in size or smaller was completed in Brookline, MA, again utilizing volunteer survey teams. Each of the inventories focused on utilizing different methods of inventory protocol, ranging from the use of digital aerial photographs to GIS produced line and symbol maps. Each of the projects included a training curriculum designed by the Center, with classroom and field instruction provided by the Center and cooperating partners in each community. The inventories provided the opportunity to compare various instructional and logistical procedures used in the programs, and provided additional feedback from the community volunteers. Each of the inventories provided the opportunity for refinement of procedures, protocol, and organizational development. The feedback from these inventories will enable the Center to complete the final draft of the "Volunteer Training Manual" and to begin the development of a "train the trainer" program. The recently completed inventories explored various methods for implementing a successful "train the trainer" program.

Educational Partnerships & Student Interns - The Center hopes to fully implement a program of educational partnerships and a student intern program over the next two years. The first of the educational partnerships was formed with the University of Rhode Island (URI), providing an opportunity for the Center to work cooperatively with Dr. Brian Maynard on the completion of the street tree inventory in S. Kingstown, RI. Several student interns from the URI are involved in the project and will be working through the summer to statistically determine the accuracy of volunteer data acquisition. In addition to the URI partnership, the Center is coordinating the activities of two University of Massachusetts (UMass) student interns working for the summer in North Adams/Pittsfield and Brookline/Boston, MA. These students are being funded by the MA Dept. of Environmental Management, and are working on several community based urban forest projects that will provide the opportunity to serve as state and regional models. Additionally, a UMass graduate student has been working on the development of a methodology to assess the value of a community's street tree population, and is currently working on a model in Brattleboro, VT. Additionally, American Forest's GIS software CityGreen is currently being utilized for the assessment of community forests in Brattleboro, VT and Springfield, MA.

State Councils & Professional Organizations- Several state council meetings have been attended by members of the Center's staff, including CT, VT, RI, and NY. It is hoped that Center can provide technical assistance to each of the state councils as needed, including providing suitable speakers and timely topics for discussion, review, or conference agendas. In addition, the Center's staff has attended the ISA New England Chapter Annual Conference, New England Grows, and coordinated and hosted the recent ISA Tree Climbing Jamboree. The Center has provided technical assistance to the Massachusetts Tree Warden's & Forester's Association, and has assisted in the organization of its 1998 annual conference and is serving on a committee that will address tree warden's qualifications in Massachusetts. This results of this work will be transferred to other member organizations in the region. The work on the Massachusetts.

Technical Assistance Storm Response - Devastating winter storms occurred in Massachusetts during the Winter of 1996/97, prompting the Center's assistance the MA Dept. of Environmental Management and the City of Springfield, MA. The Center was requested to survey cities and towns across the state in order to quickly place an estimate on the storm damage. Additionally, the City of Springfield asked for assistance in putting together an assessment of the damage in that community. The Center worked the MA Emergency Management Agency to send out Preliminary Damage Assessment requests to over 250 towns in Central and Western Massachusetts. This activity prompted the development of a grant application, coordinated by the Center, the MA Dept. of Environmental Management for the development of a "storm response protocol" that can be used on a regional basis. A more detailed description of the project can be reviewed below, in the Technology Transfer recap.

Brooklyn, NY Initiative - The Center has been requested by the Forest Service to provide technical assistance to the reforestation efforts in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn, NY. The Center has met with local citizen groups, city officials, and Forest Service personnel to provide technical assistance in the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to inventory new and existing vegetation in the neighborhood. Included in discussion is the use of the community based volunteer tree inventory methodology developed by the Center. Additionally, this project will serve as a model for other communities to use as they work toward the development of citizen based programming.
 

Technology Transfer

WWW Site - The Center has begun construction of a WWW site, that is expected to serve as the backbone of Technology Transfer efforts by the Center. Preliminary pages at the site contain background on the Center, its Mission, Goals, and a summary of ongoing projects. It is expected that beginning in the fall of 1997, a student intern will be working on maintenance and further development of the WWW site.

Training Curriculum and Manual - The development of a training curriculum and manual for community based inventory initiatives has been completed, and field tested in several communities. The manual is competed in draft form, with some minor revisions expected. Presently, the manual is ready for use in training programs, although it is expected that several sections of the manual will be graphically enhanced through improved illustrations and drawings. The Center anticipates working with a graphic artist during this phase of the project. The format of the training manual is also being reviewed in anticipation of a "back-pocket" size version. A "Train the Trainer" companion curriculum and manual are presently being developed by the Center and it is anticipated to include a slide set that will highlight important components of the volunteer manual.

Project Profiles - Beginning in June, the Center will publish a review of on-going or completed projects, on a monthly basis. These "Project Profiles" are expected to provide valuable information to each state, and to assist in the timely transfer of information, technology, and research among the Northeastern states. The profiles will also be posted on the WWW page, which will provide up updates on projects that take place over extended time periods. It is hoped that each participating state will contribute to the project profiles in order to share research, programming, or information that will be beneficial to all the cooperating Center partners.

Hazard Tree Workshop - This fall, it is expected that the Center will coordinate Hazard Tree Workshops in two locations in order to provide key personnel in each state with current methods for assessing hazard trees in the landscape. The workshops are expected to take place in September/October.

Model Storm Response Protocol- As part of a cooperative agreement with the City of Springfield, and nine other municipalities, electric providers, and planning agencies, the Center will oversee the development of a model storm response protocol as it relates to the urban forest. The purpose of the proposed project is to develop a strategic regional approach to the management of tree related damage resulting from storm emergencies. This regional approach will enable communities to more efficiently respond to the immediate needs of storm damage clean-up and reforestation efforts. This project will include public agencies, municipalities, non-profit groups, and other professionals. The project will develop a storm response "handbook" that will focus on the needs of the Northeast region, and will fully examine the specific problems associated with storms in the New England/New York region. The project will begin in July and take place over a two-year period.