New Yorkers are currently conducting their ten-year tree census survey
The city of New York is currently conducting its once-a-decade tree census, and volunteers like Wendy Reitmeier and her husband, Tom Bettridge, are eagerly participating. This census involves identifying, measuring, and assessing the condition and location of every tree across the city using a mobile app called ArcGIS Field Map [1][3][5].
Reitmeier, who enjoys trees, found participating in the census to be an outdoor activity with a practical purpose. She and her husband were among New York City's supercounters during the last census in 2015, having counted approximately 3,700 trees [6]. The process of identifying, measuring, and assessing a tree takes approximately three minutes [7].
While the census aims to count every tree in the city, including apple trees, the city's parks department is also using ground-based light detection and ranging scans attached to cars to automatically count the majority of trees [2]. This technology may result in a greener concrete jungle for New York residents.
The training sessions for the census teach volunteers how to identify tree species by leaves, bark, seeds, and flowers. All data collected during the census is entered into the app. All five boroughs in New York City are offering training sessions and volunteer opportunities for anyone who wants to participate in the census [8].
The goal of increasing the city’s tree canopy is to enhance multiple environmental and public health benefits such as carbon sequestration, air-quality improvement, stormwater management, and reduction of urban heat island effects. Data from the census informs where tree planting is needed most, particularly targeting areas with low tree coverage to promote environmental equity and improve living conditions. Ultimately, the effort aims to improve urban sustainability, climate resilience, and quality of life for New Yorkers by increasing and maintaining the urban forest [1][4].
However, Tom Bettridge acknowledged that there are fewer trees to count due to the use of technology. Despite this, Wendy Reitmeier and Tom Bettridge are still participating in the tree census, expressing no need to run up the numbers as long as they enjoy the activity.
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References:
- NYC Parks
- NYC Parks
- NYC Parks
- NYC Parks
- NYC Parks
- NPR
- NPR
- NYC Parks
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