OPENTREEMAP: TOOLS FOR COLLABORATIVE URBAN FORESTRY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0226088
• Grant No.: 2011-33610-30862
• Proposal No.: 2011-02346
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2011
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2013
• Grant Year: 2011
• Program Code: [8.1]- Forests & Related Resources

Recipient Organization
AZAVEA, INC.
340 NORTH 12TH STREET, SUITE 402
PHILADELPHIA,PA 19107

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
The USDA Forest Service indicates that nearly 80% of the entire United States population lives in urban areas and depends on the essential ecological, economic and social benefits provided by the urban forest. Some of these benefits include: - Trees improve air quality by lowering air temperatures, altering emissions from building energy use and other sources, and removing air pollutants through their leaves. - By storing carbon and reducing carbon emissions from power plants through lowered energy use, urban trees have a far-reaching impact on global climate change. - The preponderance of asphalt and concrete in urban settings causes a "heat island" effect that increases urban air temperatures by several degrees. A shaded urban neighborhood provides heat island mitigation that reduces business and household energy use. - The reduction in expansion/contraction of asphalt caused by the shade from urban street trees can increase pavement life and reduce road maintenance costs, thus providing a synergistic reduction in the use of petroleum products that are found in roadway overlays. - Trees intercept rain on their leaf, branch and stem surfaces and by absorbing water through their roots. For every 5% increase in tree cover in urban communities, there is a 2% reduction in stormwater runoff and its corresponding contaminants that would otherwise enter local waterways as well as burden treatment plants. An important first step in the urban forest management process is the completion of a comprehensive tree inventory that documents the location and condition of existing trees and tree planting sites in a community. Despite the proven importance of the urban forest, the agencies responsible for tree management in the United States are frequently under-funded, short-staffed and their priorities are necessarily driven by weather damage, impact on electrical lines and other reactive activities. In many communities, citizens, students and non-profit organizations that are passionate about greening their communities could potentially supplement the government activities by planting and caring for trees. However, they lack the necessary tools they need to work together effectively, share critical information, and document ongoing progress. OpenTreeMap is a wiki-inspired tree inventory system that will address these issues by enabling both government and non-government stakeholder groups to collaborate in a more effective and consistent manner, thus making tree inventories widely available and more affordable for interested communities nationwide. A mobile version of the application will leverage a smart phone's GPS for tree location data and provide the ability to capture and upload digital photographs of each tree for posting on the website or for species identification purposes. OpenTreeMap calculates the benefits of each tree on the surrounding air and water quality. In addition to using this data to maintain existing trees, communities can also evaluate cost benefits by species that will guide future tree planting efforts and potentially address environmental issues specific to a street or neighborhood.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
124	0699	2080	50%
124	0699	3030	50%

Knowledge Area
124 - Urban Forestry;

Subject Of Investigation
0699 - Trees, forests, and forest products, general;

Field Of Science
2080 - Mathematics and computer sciences; 3030 - Information and communication;

Keywords

urban forest

urban forestry

geographic information systems

gis

geospatial

tree inventory

trees

stormwater

air pollution

heat island

carbon sequestration

mobile

smart phone

tablet

crowd-sourcing

Goals / Objectives
OpenTreeMap enables collaborative tree inventories by government and non-government agencies using both professional arborists and volunteers with varying levels of horticultural knowledge. A prototype was implemented in the Philadelphia region and has generated very positive feedback from the local community. Each of the following project goals is focused on lowering deployment costs, increasing mobility or enhancing user engagement: - Create mobile applications that support smart phones such as iPhone and Android. This will enable inventory participants to input data about each tree directly from the tree site by leveraging the camera, GPS and other components of their smart phones. Related to mobile application development will be the ability to use OpenTreeMap on portable tablet devices such as the iPad. - Create a mobile tree key and the ability to for users to leverage their smart phone cameras to upload photographs of a tree or leaf for instant species recognition/identification purposes. This may involve developing an API based on the application's integrated tree key or leveraging an external application using image recognition technology. - Add elements of competition and games in order to both track progress toward mapping a neighborhood or to recognize prolific contributors and encourage participation. This will require the introduction of administrative features to support scoring, leaderboards, and integration with third party social networking web sites that will enable users to share their progress with others, solicit volunteers and perform project outreach. - Create input/output API tools that will enable the OpenTreeMap system to be integrated with municipal service requests systems such as 311 and other external databases. This will enable users to report trees in need of maintenance or hazard mitigation as part of the inventory process or to address future issues related to weather or other emergencies. - Research better integration with i-Tree for calculating ecosystem data, including greenhouse gas reduction, energy savings and air quality improvements. - Provide cloud-based deployment options for organizations that do not have the technology infrastructure to host or manage the inventory data internally. Deployment "in the cloud" is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand Internet access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. The primary initial market for OpenTreeMap will be municipal governments in the United States with a population of greater than 50,000, and county governments with populations greater than 100,000. There is also a significant and growing international market for a configurable software platform that can be used to manage an urban forest.

Project Methods
The OpenTreeMap prototype is currently a web-based application with features that are accessed through traditional mouse and keyboard methods. In order to increase its utility by providing field access on smart phones as well as touch screen tablet devices such as iPad, the user interface needs to be redesigned to incorporate different button designs (larger) as well as gestures (swiping, pinching, turning, etc.) that are not possible in a web browser. The application also needs to be cross-platform for compatibility with as many mobile and tablet devices as possible. Two potential development frameworks for cross-platform mobile applications are the open source PhoneGap (supports iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry) and Appcelerator Titanium (supports iPhone, iPad and Android) frameworks. A final decision will be made based on the current state of technology at the time of Phase II project commencement. An important component of the Phase I development process was the integration of a dynamic, data-driven tree key that guides users through a multi-level species identification process. In order to further assist citizen participants to more accurately identify trees by species and thus increase the accuracy of the inventory data, a tree recognition feature will be designed for use with smart phones. This feature will be facilitated through image recognition technology, which is currently the subject of research by both the commercial and academic communities. Although basic ecosystem calculation functionality has already been integrated with the prototype OpenTreeMap application, it will be necessary to find ways to more efficiently calculate regional data such as species lists with ecosystem economic information. Specifically of interest to this project are the carbon calculation equations that were accepted by the Climate Action Registry for urban forest carbon projects, which are similar but not identical to those currently implemented by i-Tree. In addition to using this data to maintain existing trees, municipalities can use it to evaluate cost benefits by species that will guide future tree planting efforts. Municipalities can also use their comprehensive tree inventory data, and in particular the associated ecosystem benefits documented by OpenTreeMap, to apply for state and federal grant funding that will assist them in maintaining and/or replenishing the urban forest. As each new OpenTreeMap feature is developed, it will be made available to the project's Advisory Committee for review and testing. The Advisory Committee consists of multiple stakeholder agencies in Philadelphia's tree maintenance process, including certified arborists. Modifications will be made to the software based on ongoing feedback and comments. Once all new features have been implemented, a public testing session will be coordinated with designated local community groups, during which non-professional participants will interact with the software and provide comments on its functionality and ease of use. Final modifications will be made based on public comment and will be documented as part of the interim and final project reports.

Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: During the second year of the grant, we launched OpenTreeMap as a cloud-based subscription system. Organizations and individuals can purchase a subscription based on the number of trees they wish to add to the map or the feature set they wish to use. The subscription levels expand the target audiences for OpenTreeMap beyond municipal governments and non-profit organizations to include neighborhood associations, universities and educational institutions, large property owners, and other groups. These types of organizations and individuals are often responsible for planting and maintaining trees in urban environments, and OpenTreeMap enables them to share information about their trees and encourage public involvement in maintaining a healthy urban forest. To deliver information about OpenTreeMap to these audiences, we held webinars about newly developed features, published a series of blog entries highlighting how groups are using the software, compiled lists of possible users, sent emails and paper mailings announcing the system, and provided updated information about the project at www.opentreemap.org. We also presented a session on OpenTreeMap at the 2013 North Carolina GIS Conference and offered demonstrations of the prototype software to several dozen groups. Since OpenTreeMap is an open source project, we also developed a community around the open source code via the OpenTreeMap Twitter account, Github mailing lists, and code release announcements. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We have presented information on OpenTreeMap at urban forestry and technology conferences throughout the duration of the grant. We have also conducted a series of webinars and created other tutorials and training documents. Key resources on using OpenTreeMap are available athttps://www.opentreemap.org/resources/. We also regularly present information on PhillyTreeMap, the version of OpenTreeMap used in Philadelphia, at Tree Tenders training classes held at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The classes provide Philadelphia area residents with information on planting and caring for trees in their neighborhoods. Our experiences presenting on PhillyTreeMap have given us useful information on how neighborhood groups use the software. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Information about OpenTreeMap is located at www.opentreemap.org. Links to available webinars, video tutorials, and blog entries can be found on the Resources page athttps://www.opentreemap.org/resources/. We regularly send OpenTreeMap email updates to individuals who have signed up to receive notifications about new features and other changes to the software. We also present information about OpenTreeMap at urban forestry conferences and other related events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? OpenTreeMap is a web-based, open source tool for collaborative, geography enabled urban tree inventory. The research involved in creating OpenTreeMap addresses the issues many municipalities face in maintaining a current database of their urban forest population. Although managing the urban forest is crucial for optimizing the environmental, financial, and quality of life benefits, the exhaustive tree inventory required for that management is often nonexistent or out of date and few local governments have the resources necessary to conduct one. OpenTreeMap provides a method for organizations, municipal governments, and citizens to collaborative in gathering information about the trees in their community and their ecological and economic benefits. With a more accurate and complete tree inventory, cities can more effectively allocate limited resources for planting and maintaining the urban forest. OpenTreeMap also enables local governments and organizations to use technology to promote community engagement in urban forestry. As the budgets for many community greening and urban forestry projects are reduced, encouraging citizen involvement in planting and caring for trees is essential. The public can serve a vital role in advocating for additional tree plantings and increased support for tree stewardship. By displaying the ecosystem benefits of trees, OpenTreeMap demonstrates the considerable ecological and economic impact trees can have on our communities. By helping the public to explore the urban forest, organizations can use OpenTreeMap to build a larger support system to advocate for green and sustainable communities. Our research has resulted in the following outcomes and impacts connected to the major goals outlined for the project. 1.Create mobile applications that support smart phones such as iPhone and Android. OpenTreeMap promotes collaborative inventorying of urban trees, and many surveys may require individuals to gather data from the field while physically observing the tree. Rather than requiring users to take notes for later entry into OpenTreeMap, we developed a mobile app version of OpenTreeMap for use with iPhones and Android devices. The mobile version of OpenTreeMap provides opportunities for organizations and individuals to use often readily available technology to contribute to urban forestry projects. Currently, many tree inventories are conducted either by using specialized handheld devices owned by an organization or by making notes that are later transferred to a database. With the creation of the mobile version of OpenTreeMap, users can access an OpenTreeMap site from their phone or tablet and survey trees in the field with a few taps on their mobile device. The Android and iPhone mobile versions of OpenTreeMap have been deployed for five cities, several of which have used the apps for community tree surveys. 2.Create a mobile tree key and the ability to for users to leverage their smart phone cameras to upload photographs of a tree or leaf for instant species recognition/identification purposes. This goal was removed as part of the SBIR Phase II administrative review process in order to reduce the budget. We did not complete tasks related to this technical objective. In lieu of funding to develop tree recognition features, OpenTreeMap sites include links to existing tree keys in order to assist users in successfully identifying a tree’s species. 3.Add elements of competition and games in order to both track progress toward mapping a neighborhood or to recognize prolific contributors and encourage participation. OpenTreeMap enables individuals to add and edit information about trees in an intuitive, geographic interface that does not require previous experience with Geographic Information Systems technology or other software training. As the budgets for many community greening and urban forestry projects are reduced, encouraging citizen involvement in planting and caring for trees is essential. The public can serve a vital role in advocating for additional tree plantings and increased support for tree stewardship. Adding features to promote return visits to the software was essential to creating a commercially successful project. We integrated social media sharing links so that users can share individual trees with their social networks. OpenTreeMap users also receive reputation points for actions they complete including adding a tree, editing a tree, and reviewing another user’s edits. As the reputation points increase, the user gains additional editing privileges such as the ability to indicate the tree’s height or condition. We have met with an educational gaming consultant who has provided guidance on how to expand the reputation system to support badging and group challenges. 4.Create input/output API tools that will enable the OpenTreeMap system to be integrated with municipal service requests systems such as 311 and other external databases. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enable software developers to access and share information to and from a database in a structured way. We felt it was necessary to develop methods for moving data between OpenTreeMap and other systems. Many organizations maintain a works management system, 311 information system, or other database to which they would like to add data from OpenTreeMap. We created a series of APIs to support data sharing between an OpenTreeMap mobile app and that tree map’s main database. These APIs could be adapted for use with other systems. 5.Research better integration with i-Tree for calculating ecosystem data, including greenhouse gas reduction, energy savings and air quality improvements. Many organizations use the ecosystem benefits calculated by OpenTreeMap to demonstrate the importance of the urban forest to funding agencies and political representatives. OpenTreeMap uses the i-Tree Streets system developed by the U.S. Forest Service to calculate those benefits. We wished to investigate the possible use of other ecosystem calculation methods that may be more applicable to cities outside the United States. Our research found that i-Tree Streets remains the best method for effectively calculating benefits based on a minimum required amount of information. We did not integrate a new methodology but instead rewrote the ecosystem calculation portion of OpenTreeMap to more easily allow for organizations to customize many aspects of those calculations such as the currency amounts used to calculate the economic impact. 6. Provide cloud-based deployment options for organizations that do not have the technology infrastructure to host or manage the inventory data internally. The version of OpenTreeMap completed under the Phase I grant required the deployment of a new website and database for each organization interested in creating a tree map. This was labor intensive and often costly. We rebuilt OpenTreeMap for use with Amazon Web Services, a cloud-based system that enables us to deploy and support a single implementation of OpenTreeMap in a Software-as-a-Service model. Under this business model, organizations may sign-up for one of four subscription plans, each with a variety of features, and pay a monthly fee that includes ongoing maintenance, backup, and support. The data for individual organizations that create a tree map is stored as part of a larger database, and we need only make updates in one place, which dramatically lowers deployment and maintenance costs. The organizations automatically receive the new features and bug fixes that are made available to their subscription plan. We currently have two organizations signed to the second highest subscription level and have provided demonstrations of the software to dozens of other groups.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2013 Citation: "Crowd Sourced Data as a Civic Hack: Using OpenTreeMap for Citizen Forestry," Dave Michelson, GISP, City of Asheville, and Deborah Boyer, Azavea. Presentation at NC GIS Conference, Raleigh, NC, February 8, 2013.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: OpenTreeMap Product Web Site, http://www.opentreemap.org/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: OpenTreeMap Source Code Repository, https://github.com/azavea/opentreemap/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: OpenTreeMap2 Source Code Repository, https://github.com/azavea/OTM2
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: OpenTreeMap iOS Source Code Repository, https://github.com/azavea/OpenTreeMap-iOS
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: OpenTreeMap Android Source Code Repository https://github.com/azavea/OpenTreeMap-Android

Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: OpenTreeMap is open source software for collaborative, geography-enabled urban tree inventory. As part of this USDA SBIR Phase 2 grant, Azavea has expanded and modified the OpenTreeMap platform to meet the urban forestry needs of more cities. At the midpoint of the project, we have completed the following outputs. First, we designed and completed a mobile application that enables users to access OpenTreeMap websites via iPhone and iPad devices. The mobile application ensures that users can search for trees and add and edit tree data using their smartphones and tablets. Mobile access to an OpenTreeMap site creates new opportunities for tree surveys and additional public interaction with the data. Currently, we are developing an Android version of the mobile application for release within the next three months. An example of the mobile version can be viewed at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phillytreemap/id553281447mt=8 Second, we developed touch screen functionality that enables OpenTreeMap websites to be used on tablet computers. In summer 2012, a group accessed PhillyTreeMap via tablet computer in order to conduct a survey of over 1,500 trees in South Philadelphia. Third, we created a series of application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow data to be fed more easily into and out of OpenTreeMap systems, enabling integration with other software. Fourth, we began the process of social media integration by adding links that enable users to share information about trees via Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Fifth, we held a series of webinars for members of the urban forestry community who were interested in possibly implementing OpenTreeMap. Exploring Collaborative Tree Inventory with OpenTreeMap - http://www.azavea.com/blogs/atlas/2012/03/recorded-webinar-exploring- collaborative-tree-inventory-with-opentreemap/ Exploring Community Engagement with OpenTreeMap - http://www.azavea.com/blogs/atlas/2012/06/recorded-webinar-exploring- community-engagement-with-opentreemap/ Exploring Mobile Technology with OpenTreeMap Mobile - http://www.azavea.com/blogs/atlas/2012/09/recorded-webinar-exploring- mobile-technology-with-opentreemap-mobile/ We also presented a session on PhillyTreeMap at the 2011 Partners in Community Forestry Conference. Finally, we completed two OpenTreeMap implementations for cities in the United States and secured a contract for an additional OpenTreeMap implementation in the United Kingdom. We also completed upgrades to three existing OpenTreeMap websites and released mobile applications for the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Sacramento tree maps. PARTICIPANTS: Robert Cheetham served as the project director and reviewed research, provided feedback, and assisted with all aspects of the project. Deborah Boyer served as the project manager and organized meetings, held webinars and demonstrations of the software, contributed to business development efforts, compiled reports, reviewed designs, and provided testing and feedback. Carissa Brittain served as a software developer and assisted with developing software code for OpenTreeMap. Adam Hinz served as a software developer and assisted with developing the OpenTreeMap mobile application and other features. Justin Walgran served as a software developer and assisted with developing the OpenTreeMap mobile application and other features. Individuals from the following organizations served on the Advisory Committee and provided feedback on OpenTreeMap: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, U.S. Forest Service, Urban Ecos, TreeKIT. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for OpenTreeMap are municipal governments and non-profit organizations who are often responsible for planting and maintaining trees in urban environments. Due to the collaborative nature of OpenTreeMap, regional planning commissions, community and neighborhood associations, stormwater and watershed managers, universities, and large parcel owners may also be interested in partnering with a municipality on an OpenTreeMap implementation. Each of these groups could use OpenTreeMap to share information about their trees and encourage public involvement in maintaining a healthy urban forest. To deliver information about OpenTreeMap to these audiences, we published several blog entries, created tutorials on how to use the software, held a series of three webinars, and provided updated information about the project at www.opentreemap.org and www.azavea.com/opentreemap. We also presented a session at the Partners in Community Forestry Conference in 2011, offered demonstrations of the prototype software, and sent several mailings and emails to members of the target groups. Since OpenTreeMap is an open source project, we are also committed to developing a community around the open source code via the OpenTreeMap Twitter account, Github mailing lists, and code release announcements. We will be continuing with similar activities during the second year of the grant. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Studies by the U.S. Forest Service and other groups demonstrate the many environmental, health, aesthetic, and economic benefits of a healthy urban forest. Maintaining a thriving street tree population, however, depends on knowing the location of current trees and where additional planting opportunities may be available. The OpenTreeMap software provides tools for foresters and other groups to inventory and maintain the urban tree environment. Our research has resulted in the following outcomes and impacts. First, organizations can collaborate more easily and efficiently with other governmental, non-profit, and educational organizations as well as the general public. OpenTreeMap enables individuals to add and edit information about trees in an intuitive, geographic interface that does not require previous experience with Geographic Information Systems technology or other software training. Second, users can learn new information about the economic and ecosystem benefits generated by trees. OpenTreeMap uses data from i-Tree, software created by the U.S. Forest Service, to provide scientifically calculated information on how trees improve air quality, contribute to stormwater management, and assist in conserving energy. By searching OpenTreeMap, users can explore the benefits gained from the trees in their communities. Third, the mobile version of OpenTreeMap provides opportunities for organizations and individuals to use new, often readily available technology to contribute to urban forestry projects. Currently, many tree inventories are conducted either by using specialized handheld devices owned by an organization or by making notes that are later transferred to a database. With the creation of the mobile version of OpenTreeMap, users can access an OpenTreeMap site from their phone or tablet and survey trees in the field with a few taps on their mobile device. Fourth, the new features in OpenTreeMap can be used by many different cities throughout the United States and around the world. With updated tree inventory information, organizations can plan more effectively for tree planting campaigns and create a healthy urban forest that contributes many economic and environmental benefits for the community.

Publications

• Kocher, W. 2012. New Software for Tree Inventory and Urban Forestry Outreach. Arborist News: International Society of Arboriculture, 21(4): 50-51.