Monthly Meeting: Intersecting Applied Science with Community Climate Action

It’s easy to describe the beauty and natural importance of trees, but it has historically been challenging to translate these values into a language that can be appreciated by politicians, businesses, professionals, and commercial property owners.

Lindsay Taylor and Sean Parkinson started with the question “how do we bring more trees downtown?” as the St. Catharines Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA), nestled between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, wanted to expand the surrounding urban forest. Through their research, they developed a method for accurately and responsibly measuring and monitoring trees as green infrastructure and natural assets. This method addresses site selection, tree selection, biodiversity considerations, engineering considerations, climate mitigation, and asset appreciation.

Their presentation will address the importance of an effective inventorying approach that can help identify, map, and assess trees, to allow cities to properly manage and grow the urban canopy, while quantifying the benefits of every investment. This work could not have been achieved without citizen scientists and community volunteership. They will explore innovative opportunities such as the grassroots movement kick-started by ArborSTC, to highlight why the intersection of applied science and community action is the foundation of effective urban forest management.

For more information about their urban forestry work in Downtown St. Catharines visit: www.MyDowntown.ca/urban-street-trees

Doors open at 7:00 PM, presentation begins at 7:30 PM

Livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HamiltonNature/streams