Our urban forest is made up of the trees and associated green spaces in parks, streets, private land and natural areas within the city. A diverse urban forest provides resilience to environmental change (like climate change, or insect outbreaks) while also providing numerous benefits to our communities. Trees within our green spaces reduce hot summer temperatures, improve local air quality, promote mental wellbeing and provide recreational spaces for physical activity. To better measure and understand these benefits, scientists need an inventory of city trees. Our current understanding of urban forests has been largely limited to trees located on public land. However, half of all city trees are growing on private land – and the characteristics of these trees are not well understood. Understanding how tree species differ between public and private green spaces is crucial to understanding the full scope of urban forest diversity and the numerous benefits it provides our communities. Through this project, we will build on our current knowledge of the urban forest using local resident participation in a tree inventory of private yards. This information will improve our understanding of urban forest diversity, resilience, and benefits in Montreal.
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Dawson College Tree InventoryThis year, we will be collaborating with students at Dawson College to survey the trees on private land surrounding Dawson College. In doing so, we will be contributing valuable data to our growing network of tree inventories on the island of Montreal. We will be out in the field around Dawson starting in June to collect data. If you reside within the green area, we will be going door-to-door to ask for permission to survey the trees. If you reside within the purple area, we would love to come visit your backyard, but need to set up an appointment first! You can set up a time for us to come by and visit by emailing us at the following address:
[email protected] |
Dr. Carly
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Tonia De
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Kayleigh
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Maya
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