#MontrealTreeProject #CUtrees #DawsonTrees

Why should we create an inventory of the trees on private land?

​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.

Dawson College Tree Inventory

This 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]

iNaturalist Project

We have opened up the project to residents living on the island. If you find yourself outside of this area or prefer to conduct your own survey, we have set up an iNaturalist Project for the island of Montreal. Below, we have outlined the process of measuring, recording, and adding your observations to our iNaturalist project.  We have also included a link to the project for you to be able to upload your results! 
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/projet-arbres-de-montreal-montreal-tree-project

How to create your own tree inventory?

Need an excuse to get outside with your family and enjoy the beautiful weather? This may just be the opportunity you are looking for. All you’ll need are a few household items, and curiosity about your own local nature and backyard.

What You’ll Need:
  1. Ball of string or twine
  2. Pen/pencil/marker
  3. Measuring tape/ruler
  4. Camera or smartphone
  5. Notebook 

All Set?
Great! Grab your tools and let’s get outside! 

We need the following information from you:
  1. Pictures of the bark, leaves and full form of the tree for identification purpose. 
  2. Circumference of the tree (cm).
​
How to measure the circumference?
  1. First, measure 1.3 meters up the trunk from the ground to mark where you’ll begin your measurement
  2. Take your string and secure it at 1.3 metres, then wrap it all the way around the tree, making sure it remains tight and even all the way around
  3. Pull the string tight and mark it where it overlaps
  4. Now you can measure the string between the two marks to determine its circumference to the nearest millimetre. 
  5. Record the measurements in your notebook
  6. Repeat this process for each tree in your yard (Be sure to match up each measurement and photo with the correct tree)

What if your tree is not so straightforward?
  1. If there is a fork at 1.3m, measure each trunk separately following the same steps and mark down both down circumferences on your worksheet.
  2. Bump or branch at 1.3 metres? Take your measurement just below (shown in video)
  3. If your tree has multiple stems at the base, measure right at the base of stems

For more information on how to take measurements, you can watch the following "How To" Video by Kayleigh, the masters student who ran the NDG Tree Project last year.  While this video was created specifically for the NDG Tree project, there are useful tips for taking measurements. You can follow along the video and take your measurements with her

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgKntLPCJz8

Pictures and Submissions

Now that you have recorded all your observations, it is time to upload your results into iNaturalist. You can use the following tutorial to learn how to do so.

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/adding-observations-to-a-traditional-project-wiki/13190

If you are taking the pictures directly on your smartphone, the easiest way to upload your results would be to download the iNaturalist app (available for iOS and Android). If you haven't done so yet, create an iNaturalist account so that you can upload your observations! 

​Once signed up, you will be able to look up the "Montreal Tree Project" in the projects section and join our project. Then, you may start adding your observations. When doing so, we ask that you include a picture of the bark, the leaves and the full tree (as much as is possible) for identification purposes. You can select our project in the project section, and you will then be prompted to add additional information (circumference in cm, number of stems and planting year (optional))

If you are taking pictures using a camera, it may be easier to add your observations directly on the online platform.  You will need to create an account and sign in on a computer to add your tree to our project. When you are on the online platform, you will be able to look up our project (Montreal Tree Project) or use the link above to find our project. Once there, you can click on the add observations button and input the required information. 

NDG Tree Project: Thank you for Participating!

Last year, we accepted your submissions to the NDG Community Tree Project. Combined with our public tree inventory, your individual submissions have contributed to an inventory of over 5,000 trees within the community! We'd like to personally thank our participants for their contributions to our research project. Without your enthusiasm in local science and research we would not have been able to complete our work during these uncertain times. Your continued interest and engagement is deeply appreciated! 

If you are looking to plant some new trees, check out Soverdi's "Tree for my borough".

https://unarbrepourmonquartier.org/en/about/how-it-works/

- The Tree Team

In the Media!

Meet Our Team!

Contact us at: [email protected]
Photos by: @ConcordiaStudio

Dr. Carly
​Ziter

Principal Investigator

Carly is a new professor in the Department of Biology at Concordia University, where she leads the Urban Landscape Ecology lab, and teaches courses about ecology and biodiversity. She loves working with passionate graduate and undergraduate students to learn more about the plant and animal species sharing our great city. She's especially excited about projects (like this one!) that engage community members in science and education.

Tonia De
​Bellis

Affiliate Professor

Tonia De Bellis is a faculty member in the Biology Department and co-coordinator of the Environmental Science at Dawson College. Tonia is also an affiliate member of the biology department at Concordia University, works on research projects in ecology, more specifically plants and their associated microbial companions. She thinks that getting students involved in research creates powerful learning experiences, encourages student persistence and success in STEM. That is part of reason for joining the Ziter team and getting Dawson students involved in the Mtl Tree project!

Kayleigh
​Hutt-Taylor

Lead Master's Student

Kayleigh is the lead graduate student working on the NDG community tree inventory. I'm very passionate about studying urban ecology! With this project, I am hoping we can engage local residents to learn more about their own backyard nature while also contributing to our overall understanding of Montreal’s urban forest. By integrating private trees into our research we can move towards an overall improved understanding of the value of urban trees and what they provide our communities.

Maya
​Catterall

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Maya is a 2020 summer research intern, completing her 2020 work term for her CO-OP program. I joined this team because I am interested in studying urban forests and how they impact our well being and local ecology. I will also be looking at tree diversity in cities, using the data we collect, to look at how our preferences for native vs. non-native tree species can have an impact on local biodiversity.