5 YEAR URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAM PROPOSAL

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: RREA
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1012727
• Project No.: DCUFE_2016_2020
• Project Start Date: May 1, 2017
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2019

Project Director
Jones, DW, .

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
4200 CONNECTICUT AVENUE N.W
WASHINGTON,DC 20008

Performing Department
Cooperative Extension

Non Technical Summary
Non-technical Summary:The term "urban forest" refers to all trees within a densely populated area, including trees in parks, on streetways, and on private property. Though the composition, health, age, extent, and costs of urban forests vary considerably among different cities, all urban forests offer some common environmental, economic, and social benefits. Trees in a community help to reduce air and water pollution, alter heating and cooling costs, and increase real estate values. Trees can improve physical and mental health, strengthen social connections, and are associated with reduced crime rates. Trees, community gardens, and other green spaces get people outside, helping to foster active living and neighborhood pride. Thus, it is very important that current extension activities focus on the social and ecological processes pressuring the environment, at multiple temporal and spatial scales, in order to better predict the influences of increasing population, economic growth, and land use polices have on urban forests function, community health dynamic, and species distribution. Over the next 5 years, the Urban Forestry Extension Program in the College of Agriculture Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences at the University of the District of Columbia will layout a proposal an urban forestry extension plan of action that is inclusive of academic course offerings, citizen science capacity building, extension outreach, and knowledge acquisition. Urban forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Active stewardship of a community's forestry assets can strengthen local resilience to climate change while creating more sustainable and desirable places to live.Transformative Science:Environmental and human health interactions are critically important in many metropolitan cities where the problems of working-class populations are often exacerbated by a lack of understanding of urban green space; in particular urban forests. We argue that forest health is a central criterion for sustainability in urban cities due to coupled environmental and human health interaction, technology, and society, and understanding the connections requires integrative and cross-disciplinary approaches involving biology, ecology, political science, and business. The knowledge gained, as well as the data products and tools developed from this extension research, will help inform and transform current approaches used to predict and address problems related to the degradation of urban forest; specifically environmental stress, human health impacts, and cost savings. This collaborative extension based research will highlight the barriers to achieving sustainable canopies and will also inform multi-stakeholder solutions to these problems for greener cities that consider the connected health benefits to residents and visitors. This transdisciplinary-applied extension will help transform past ideas of simply managing and maintaining street and park trees to now considering (1) how land use decisions are related to natural resources and public health, (2) why the preservation and management of trees in built urban environments is important, and (3) how green space affects development on both public and private property.Intellectual Merit:Urbanization threatens the green infrastructure of our cities as a result of a lack of understanding at the ecosystem-level by policy makers and administrators, downsizing of local governments, and limited people-centered or people-focused educational programs that advance forestry science by increasing awareness of the relationship between people and land. Subsequently, climate change is also modifying urban canopies and human behavior in both predictable and unpredictable ways. This transdisciplinary applied extension based research program seeks to investigate the socio-economic and behavioral factors underlying a working-class population's participation in increasing and conserving urban forests by developing decentralized systems that capture real time data from the residents. It will examine how engagement and education shifts the dendrophobia paradigm to a positive ecosystem service-focused paradigm; while also advancing our basic understanding, as well as our predictive capabilities, of the effects urban forests have on soils, climate, water, and human health, specifically those anthropogenic barriers to increasing canopy cover. The results will yield a scalable applied framework useful for measuring forest elasticity and response effectiveness necessary for urban forest sustainability. Residents who become involved in the 3-tier urban forestry programs will provide necessary feedback, which the results will be used to improve access, usability, and application of knowledge learned from contact provided over time. The three main objectives of this proposal are 1) patient preventive care (personalized and scenario-based guidelines); 2) secure and digitized data distribution that allows for analysis of environmental and patient health data, and 3) knowledge-based reasoning that establishes a strong mechanistic model that synthesize collected data and construct algorithms to assure accurate patient-driven decisions.Broader Impacts: This project has potential to benefit our society by the development and use of innovative technological approaches that will support much needed transformation in healthcare of chronic lung diseases to preventive personalized solutions; thereby reducing patient and hospital costs. The anticipated outcomes of the project include understanding the relationship between climatic environmental factors and chronic lung diseases, the usability of technology in preventive personalized healthcare, and the behavior of working-class individuals in using this technology. While wearable sensors and hand-held devices are popular, this proposal aims to understand the usability of this technology with a working-class population who could benefit from this technology the most; but are not often able to comply with treatment plans designed to prevent further lung damage. There is limited evaluation research on the usability of these technologies, which is the knowledge gap this extension program aims to fill. The proposed innovative solution that addresses the working population suffering from chronic lung diseases in Washington D.C will not only help to address the asthma and COPD burden in the District of Columbia, but will also be replicable in most metropolitan cities around the country. The newly acquired understanding, technology, and datasets that will be developed as part of this program will be beneficial to a wide audience of academics, scientists, medical practitioners, and policy makers.Problem Structuring Framework Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response FrameworkNext StepsWrite justification for funding for Master Naturalist CoordinatorWrite justification for the following Junior Extension Agents/Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants:Biology; EcoHealth and AgroforestryBusiness (if possible, ag-business); BusinessJournalism, marketing, and mass communicationPolitical science and public administrationArchitecture, Design and ConstructionSchedule stakeholder meetingsSeek capability statements from firms for installation of green infrastructure and concomitant training.

Animal Health Component

20%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
124	6040	3020	20%
125	6210	3020	10%
123	7110	3020	10%
605	6099	3020	40%
606	0699	3020	20%

Knowledge Area
125 - Agroforestry; 123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources; 606 - International Trade and Development; 605 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics; 124 - Urban Forestry;

Subject Of Investigation
6210 - Farmer cooperatives; 6040 - Real estate; 0699 - Trees, forests, and forest products, general; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 7110 - Research on research management;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

forest

urban forestry

agroforestry

ecological valuation

non-timber forest products

biodiversity

human health

Goals / Objectives
Urban Forestry Program 2016-2020Theme: Forest Resilience for Livelihoods and Ecosystem ServicesExtension Question: How can urban forestry increase urban resilience for livelihoods and ecosystem services?Sub-Questions,What is the state of the urban forest cover in Washington DC?How can edible and non-edible tree species improve land permeability as a mitigation tool for stormwater management?How can edible and non-edible tree species improve nutrient uptake and serve as erosion control?What are the most salient drivers (indirect effects) of forest cover change in Washington DC?What are the limited factors influencing growth in urban soils?What are the most salient pressures (direct effects) of forest cover change in Washington DC?What are the barriers to planting trees in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods?What are the most salient impacts arising from the change in the forest state?What are the responses (at scale) and are they effective at addressing the entire problem facing urban tree canopy in the District?Can empowering a diverse group of stakeholders in the District increase UTC and urban ecosystem sustainability?Program Goals:1. To establish an urban forestry extension agenda focused on tree stress, ecosystem sustainability, trees as green infrastructure, economic valuation of the benefits received, and trees as socioeconomic-tool of empowerment.2. To produce a community of skilled citizen scientists who are dedicated and knowledgeable on diverse topics and benefits concerning the urban tree canopy, conservation, and stewardship of the District's natural resources.3. To advance special topics on forestry across disciplines and colleges in order to establish the capacity, and demand for launching an academic major in Urban Forestry for undergraduate and graduate studies.Overall: OneHealth ecosystem sustainability

Project Methods
MethodsScenario methodAssumptionsType of resultLimitationsRequired dataCost?Time? demandComputing demandRequired analyst skillTreatment MethodsLiterature reviewData points taken over time may have an internal structure that should be accounted forNarrative interpretation of the available evidence in chronological order and by thematic categoriesDependability, availability, validity, interpretivePrimary and secondary sourcesZeroMediumPCLowAcademic classesHighest-quality jobs in this new clean energy sector will be in more knowledge-intensive occupation knowledge-intensive occupationsCurricula that prepare students to address important urban and community forestry suchLimited # of students in the CAUSESPre and post students surveysMedium for in-state and Metro residents; high for out-of-stateHigh initially; medium after start up yearsPCLowExtension classesIncreasing efficiency in urban-agriculture and agroforestry production;Changed attitudes or behavior that positively contribute to environmental sustainabilitySpecific and targeted outreachPre and post students dataLowMediumPCLowTechnical training workshopsEmerging clean energy economy is creating jobsStudents enrolled in programs will demonstrate at least two indicators of improved natural resource knowledge continuously with engagementA foundational understanding of natural resourcesPre and post students surveysLow for subsided residents; high for professionalsMediumPCLowNon-Model Based MethodsGround truthingCommunity-level data collection strengthen the interpretation and analysis of what is being sensedActive planning, management, and care of the urban forest can improve its resilience to climate changeMust be corrected geometrically and georeferenced in order to be useful as mapsHealth, foliage and tree basal areaMediumMediumTablet and PCModestGIS & remote sensingRemote sensing has proven to be a powerful tool for monitoring the Earth's surfaceA Framework that links behavior of individuals, house- holds, communities to changes in land use/cover, to the population, biophysical, and geographical processes that define the landscapeLinking people to pixelsSensors and satellitesLow/mediumLowMedium/ highAnalogue -- temporal weather dataHistorical period can serve as scenarios of climate changeDescription of climate patterns and D or M variabilityPast warm periods not caused by human activities, e.g., greenhouse gas emissionsExtensive historic climate data series for the region concernedLowLow - -Model Based MethodsClimate Change & Forest Valuation ModelIntegrated assessment models can mimic the behavior of real-time scenariosSustainable citizen observatories for the demonstration of their societal and economic benefitsLimited in their capacity to register ethical motivations to act for environmental goodsInteraction between the individual and the environment, combine with 30 years observed dataHigh due to the development of the District's green-workforceLowPCLowMixed Methods-As urban forestry management, forest health management, ecosystem analysis, arboriculture, urban hydrology, ecology, and GIS-Determinants of forest health: fungus, location, damaged roots, bare branches, trunk damage-Land use/land cover plays an important role in global environmental change and sustainability, including response to climate change, ecosystem structure and function, species and genetic diversity, water and energy balance, and agro-ecological potential. A valuation method, particularly one that uses a citizen science approach registers the content or nature of existing motivations insofar as the process by which the valuation is arrived at has mechanisms or procedures that can distinguish between the motivations of either participants in the valuation process. Technical training is a misunderstood, challenging, and sometimes frustrating topic. This program explores what makes technical training unique,-The essential skills necessary for both a developer and the process of creating technical instruction for operational, tool-based, and/or software training.-Overall, the limitations of this study are low property ownership in areas where UTC can be increase the most, local budget and fiscal policy, and the manifestation of social- and contextual thoughts.•Step 1: Education•Improve the type, amount, and relevance of intervention.•Step 2: Knowledge•Increase individual and community ability to retain educational information in order to promote conscious stewardship.•Step 3: Project Engagement•Provide vehicles for continued growth by engaging all stakeholders in projects that are relevant and beneficial to their livelihood.•Step 4: Data Collection•Establish training procedures, protocols, and programs for the collection and analysis of data related to natural resoruces by general memebers of the public.•Step 5: Economic Empowerment•Shape sustainable communities by furthering job opportunies thorugh enhancing job skills, food and energy security, and overall finacial security.

Progress 05/01/17 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The urban agriculture/agroforestry/green infrastructure programs at UDC provides classes and workshops that introduce District residents to invasive plant ecology, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and urban tree care. Through demonstration projects, workshops, youth programs, and partnerships, DC residents actively participate in greening the city. Changes/Problems:Dr. Ashley Milton, former Project Director, resigned from the institution effective June 29, 2018. Dr. Dwane Jones has become the Project Director as of July 1, 2018. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The urban agriculture/agroforestry/green infrastructure programs at UDC provides classes and workshops that introduce District residents to invasive plant ecology, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and urban tree care. Through demonstration projects, workshops, youth programs, and partnerships, DC residents actively participate in greening the city. In fiscal year 2018, over 60 volunteers donated a total of 350 hours of green infrastructure, master naturalist, and native plant nursery-related events, worth nearly $10,000 in volunteer service. RREA funds were leveraged by the in-kind contribution of the Project Specialist's hours, approximately $15,000, totaling $37,200. UDC offered 2, 16 hours in length, urban agriculture/agroforestry workshops were held in which DC residents and volunteers learned to grow food in bio-intensive, using manual methods, resulting in the increase of food access and promotion of specialty crops on private lands. This course included a study of spring and fall organic crop production practices, including vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs. Topics included site selection, production methods, and plant science. Upon completion, students were able to demonstrate knowledge of organic gardening and farming methods appropriate for each season. These workshops were offered in partnership + collaboration with UDC's Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health. A new curriculum, focus groups, and a new advisory board was developed for the DC Master Naturalist Program and the program. A green infrastructure curriculum was developed and planned for implementation at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. The program launched at HD Woodson Fall 2018. UDC is currently reviewing feedback from the pilot in partnership with the Water Environment Federation. Program planning and partnership development continued for the Native Plant Nursery, now constructed at UDC's Bertie Backus Community College Campus. Partnerships include, Rock Creek Conservancy, National Conservancy, Building Bridges Across the River, District Department of Energy and the Environment, DC Department of Parks and Recreation, and DC Public Schools. Participants of classes were surveyed to assess the classes' effectiveness in changing knowledge and behavior. Respondents reported that material learned in class was useful, however, participants also stated they would like more frequent offerings of these essential trainings and improved communication. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The urban agriculture/agroforestry/green infrastructure programs at UDC provides classes and workshops that introduce District residents to invasive plant ecology, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and urban tree care. Through demonstration projects, workshops, youth programs, and partnerships, DC residents actively participate in greening the city. UDC engaged over 60 volunteers donated a total of 350 hours of green infrastructure, master naturalist, and native plant nursery-related events, worth nearly $10,000 in volunteer service. RREA funds were leveraged by the in-kind contribution of the Project Specialist's hours, approximately $15,000, totaling $37,200. UDC offered 2, 16 hours in length, urban agriculture/agroforestry workshops were held in which DC residents and volunteers learned to grow food in bio-intensive, using manual methods, resulting in the increase of food access and promotion of specialty crops on private lands. This course included a study of spring and fall organic crop production practices, including vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs. Topics included site selection, production methods, and plant science. Upon completion, students were able to demonstrate knowledge of organic gardening and farming methods appropriate for each season. These workshops were offered in partnership + collaboration with UDC's Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health. A new curriculum, focus groups, and a new advisory board was developed for the DC Master Naturalist Program and the program. A green infrastructure curriculum was developed and planned for implementation at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. The program launched at HD Woodson Fall 2018. UDC is currently reviewing feedback from the pilot in partnership with the Water Environment Federation. Program planning and partnership development continued for the Native Plant Nursery, now constructed at UDC's Bertie Backus Community College Campus. Partnerships include, Rock Creek Conservancy, National Conservancy, Building Bridges Across the River, District Department of Energy and the Environment, DC Department of Parks and Recreation, and DC Public Schools. Participants of classes were surveyed to assess the classes' effectiveness in changing knowledge and behavior. Respondents reported that material learned in class was useful, however, participants also stated they would like more frequent offerings of these essential trainings and improved communication. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Evaulate a revised green infrastructure curriculum at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. Develop and execute a modifed, vetted version of the DC Master Naturalist Program Increase the number of volunteers and number of hours engaged at the DC Native Plant Nursery

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The urban agriculture/agroforestry/green infrastructure programs at UDC provides classes and workshops that introduce District residents to invasive plant ecology, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and urban tree care. Through demonstration projects, workshops, youth programs, and partnerships, DC residents actively participate in greening the city. UDC engaged over 60 volunteers donated a total of 350 hours of green infrastructure, master naturalist, and native plant nursery-related events, worth nearly $10,000 in volunteer service. RREA funds were leveraged by the in-kind contribution of the Project Specialist's hours, approximately $15,000, totaling $37,200. UDC offered 2, 16 hours in length, urban agriculture/agroforestry workshops were held in which DC residents and volunteers learned to grow food in bio-intensive, using manual methods, resulting in the increase of food access and promotion of specialty crops on private lands. This course included a study of spring and fall organic crop production practices, including vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs. Topics included site selection, production methods, and plant science. Upon completion, students were able to demonstrate knowledge of organic gardening and farming methods appropriate for each season. These workshops were offered in partnership + collaboration with UDC's Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health. A new curriculum, focus groups, and a new advisory board was developed for the DC Master Naturalist Program and the program. A green infrastructure curriculum was developed and planned for implementation at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. The program launched at HD Woodson Fall 2018. UDC is currently reviewing feedback from the pilot in partnership with the Water Environment Federation. Program planning and partnership development continued for the Native Plant Nursery, now constructed at UDC's Bertie Backus Community College Campus. Partnerships include, Rock Creek Conservancy, National Conservancy, Building Bridges Across the River, District Department of Energy and the Environment, DC Department of Parks and Recreation, and DC Public Schools. Participants of classes were surveyed to assess the classes' effectiveness in changing knowledge and behavior. Respondents reported that material learned in class was useful, however, participants also stated they would like more frequent offerings of these essential trainings and improved communication.

Publications

Progress 05/01/17 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The urban agriculture/agroforestry program at UDC provides classes and workshops that introduce District residents to invasive plant ecology, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and urban tree care. Through demonstration projects, workshops, youth programs, and partnerships, DC residents actively participate in greening the city. Changes/Problems:Dr. Ashley Milton is longer employed by the institution and as such, is no longer Project Director on this grant. Dr. Dwane Jones is now the Project Director. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?UDC offered 2, 30 hours urban agriculture/agroforestry workshops were held in which local residents and volunteers learned to grow food in bio-intensive, using manual methods, resulting in the increase of food access and promotion of specialty crops on private lands. This course included a study of spring and fall organic crop production practices, including vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs. Topics included site selection, production methods, and plant science. Upon completion, students were able to demonstrate knowledge of organic gardening and farming methods appropriate for each season. These workshops were offered in partnership + collaboration with UDC's Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health and Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR). A new curriculum was developed for the DC Master Naturalist Program and the program was launched with 22 DC residents participating. A green infrastructure curriculum was developed and planned for implementation at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. The program will launch at HD Woodson Fall 2018. Program planning and partnership development continued for the Native Plant Nursery, now constructed at UDC's Bertie Backus Community College Campus. Partnerships include, Rock Creek Conservancy, National Conservancy, Building Bridges Across the River, and DC Public Schools. Participants of classes were surveyed to assess the classes' effectiveness in changing knowledge and behavior. Respondents reported that material learned in class was useful How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?UDC offered 2, 30 hours urban agriculture/agroforestry workshops were held in which local residents and volunteers learned to grow food in bio-intensive, using manual methods, resulting in the increase of food access and promotion of specialty crops on private lands. This course included a study of spring and fall organic crop production practices, including vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs. Topics included site selection, production methods, and plant science. Upon completion, students were able to demonstrate knowledge of organic gardening and farming methods appropriate for each season. These workshops were offered in partnership + collaboration with UDC's Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health and Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR). A new curriculum was developed for the DC Master Naturalist Program and the program was launched with 22 DC residents participating. A green infrastructure curriculum was developed and planned for implementation at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. The program will launch at HD Woodson Fall 2018. Program planning and partnership development continued for the Native Plant Nursery, now constructed at UDC's Bertie Backus Community College Campus. Partnerships include, Rock Creek Conservancy, National Conservancy, Building Bridges Across the River, and DC Public Schools. Participants of classes were surveyed to assess the classes' effectiveness in changing knowledge and behavior. Respondents reported that material learned in class was useful What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Execute and evaluate a green infrastructure curriculum at HD Woodson in Washington, DC Lauch an extended version of the DC Master Naturalist Program Increase the number of volunteers for the Native Plant Nursery

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? UDC offered 2, 30 hours urban agriculture/agroforestry workshops were held in which local residents and volunteers learned to grow food in bio-intensive, using manual methods, resulting in the increase of food access and promotion of specialty crops on private lands. This course included a study of spring and fall organic crop production practices, including vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs. Topics included site selection, production methods, and plant science. Upon completion, students were able to demonstrate knowledge of organic gardening and farming methods appropriate for each season. These workshops were offered in partnership + collaboration with UDC's Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health and Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR). A new curriculum was developed for the DC Master Naturalist Program and the program was launched with 22 DC residents participating. A green infrastructure curriculum was developed and planned for implementation at HD Woodson High School in Washington, DC. The program will launch at HD Woodson Fall 2018. Program planning and partnership development continued for the Native Plant Nursery, now constructed at UDC's Bertie Backus Community College Campus. Partnerships include, Rock Creek Conservancy, National Conservancy, Building Bridges Across the River, and DC Public Schools. Participants of classes were surveyed to assess the classes' effectiveness in changing knowledge and behavior. Respondents reported that material learned in class was useful

Publications