Everyday, we talk with folks who are helping to preserve and grow their urban forests. We took notes on best practices and compiled three common traits of successful urban forestry initiatives. While often these things are easier said than done, we are here to share how Sustainable Jersey City (commonly referred to as Sustainable JC or SJC) relied on grassroots marketing and advocacy to stretch their limited funds, launch their street tree initiative and garner attention citywide.
Strong partnerships
Building strong partnerships is an important first step towards the successful implementation of an urban forestry plan. Few groups make progress without a cohesive group of people dedicated to near-term and long-term goals. These partnerships require strong leadership from individuals and organizations, and cooperation from government agencies.
Data driven planning
You must have an up-to-date tree and green infrastructure inventory to create an effective plan. Geo-coded tree data, municipal plans, stormwater studies and land cover data can all be used to measure and showcase the eco-benefits associated with your existing green infrastructure as well as your program’s impact.
Engaged community members
To reach green infrastructure and tree canopy goals, urban forestry plans must involve residents, businesses and institutions that own their property. After all, much of the urban tree canopy sits on private land. Supporting education initiatives focused on the eco-benefits associated with green infrastructure, and clearly outlining how stakeholders can help are important steps for fostering long-term engagement.
Best practices in action
Many of you know all too well the importance of strong partnerships, accurate data, and engaged citizens. Often there is not enough time in the day or money in the budget to put every great idea into action. The good news is you don’t need strong partnerships, accurate data or engaged community members to get started.
Nick Milak of Sustainable Jersey City created a crowdfunding site for a tree planting outside his apartment building.
Jersey City resident Nick Milak created a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to plant trees in empty plots in his neighborhood. After launching the campaign, Milak sent out regular progress updates, solicited the support of local business owners and took every opportunity big and small to publicize the project. Hundreds of people responded to his outreach via social media and flyers posted around the neighborhood.
After only seventeen days of sustained outreach, Milak raised over a hundred percent of his funding goal. His campaign got the attention of the Jersey City Parks Coalition and Sustainable JC. Milak has since taken on the role of Green Infrastructure Project Lead for Sustainable JC’s Street Trees initiative, which falls under their larger green infrastructure program.
What started off as a single person trying to plant nine trees in front of their apartment building has since morphed into a citywide effort to increase the city’s tree canopy. Sustainable Jersey City brings together green community groups and individuals to advance sustainability efforts. They kicked-off their Street Trees initiative with a planting event earlier this year and have decided to focus initial efforts on 14-square blocks of the city. This is the pilot for a larger, citywide initiative in Jersey City. OpenTreeMap makes it easy for them to map their plantings, log stewardship activities and engage the community.
“OpenTreeMap allows us to establish a basis of understanding for where we are, communicate that to the public, and make educated decisions about how to move forward.” – Nick Milak, Sustainable JC
In the coming months, they hope to widen the area of the program’s impact, and continue to bring together neighborhood stakeholders, community organizations and city agencies to improve the tree canopy. Visit Sustainable JC’s OpenTreeMap to track their progress or consider starting your own free 30-day trial map. If you have other best practices to add to the list, a project you are trying to get off the ground or tree inventory data you don’t know what to do with we’d love to hear from you.
Read these related posts:
- Five Best Practices for Bringing Together Stakeholders in Urban Forestry
- Recorded Webinar: Economically Analyze Tree Inventories
- Introducing Joe Morrison: OpenTreeMap’s New Product Specialist
- Seedlings, Hackers, and Mobile Citizen Science: OpenTreeMap Community Events Year in Review
- Using Edits to Engage the Community
