By Seth Hawkins, Community Forester, Georgia Forestry Commission
We spend a lot of time sharing the benefits of trees, both tangible and inherent. More times than not, however, we are preaching to the choir of fellow tree advocates. Where we can make real progress is finding better ways to communicate those benefits to the average person who sees trees as just another part of the landscape. One powerful way to help people understand and appreciate everything trees do for us is to present those benefits in terms everyone relates to – money!
The suite of i-Tree Software can help summarize the benefits trees provide in real dollar values. This is an excellent communication tool and proof point for documenting often under appreciated ways our community forests work for us. The City of Winterville recently became a Tree City USA community, which truly was a community achievement. Two public hearings were held, both with well over 50 residents in attendance, during which residents, city council members and the mayor discussed ratifying a community tree ordinance. The members of the proposed tree board conducted an i-Tree Canopy survey of the city and came to the public hearings prepared with facts. They documented the city’s tree canopy coverage of 58 percent, which provides the community with $190,460 in annual ecosystem services! When the benefits provided by the city’s canopy were presented in dollar values, it helped convince many residents and council members that proactively managing the city’s trees was a sound investment with an impressive return.
Those hearings and positive feedback from the community resulted in the city council ratifying a tree ordinance and joining the Tree City USA program. The City of Winterville now has an active tree board, a certified arborist on staff, and has hosted two successful community events centered around trees. A city tree inventory was also conducted for a new community tree management plan. This transformation for Winterville happened in less than two years, and a great deal of momentum gained was due to the commitment of several dedicated community members, equipped with knowledge of the city canopy’s value; knowledge obtained through the free and easy-to-use i-Tree Canopy Program. Any municipal arborist or tree board member can learn to use the program and measure the same canopy benefit values for their community. To get started, all you need is a GIS shapefile of your city’s boundaries and to follow the link below. For guidance, contact your Georgia Forestry Commission community forester.
If we can learn to better communicate all the hard work trees do for us, we can reach an audience that values dollars, and makes sense!
Sustainable Community Forestry 