Extension

On Going Projects

  • Urban Forestry Needs Assessment for Hillsborough County

    The goal of this assessment is to determine what people’s attitudes, perception’s and values are towards urban trees and urbanizing forests. During the winter of 2006-07 urban and rural groups of home owners were engaged using nominal group techniques to generate and prioritize ideas about urban and urbanizing forests. These ideas on the benefits and costs of urban and rural forests were rated and ranked into categories of prevailing themes. These categories or scales were used to design a survey questionnaire that was mailed to a diversity of Hillsborough County, Florida residents. http://www.sfws.auburn.edu/urbanruralinterfaces/proceedings.pdf

    A total of 641 surveys were mailed to homeowner association leaders in Hillsborough County, 158 responses were received for a 24 percent response rate. Surveys asked questions about community demographics, community or neighborhood associations, and attitudes and perceptions toward urban forests and hurricanes. Results on the perception and attitudes of Floridians towards the benefits and costs of urban forests are currently being analyzed. Demographics such as racial or ethnic background, type of residents who live in the community, type of housing unit in the community and the average price of housing units in the neighborhood were also obtained. Results are currently being analyzed using GIS.

  • Urban Forestry Needs Assessment for Broward County

    The goal of this assessment is to determine what people’s attitudes, perception’s and values are towards urban trees and urbanizing forests. Survey questionnaires will be mailed to a diversity of Broward County, Florida residents in 2008. Results from this survey will be compared to the HIllsborough County Perceptions Survey completed in 2007.

  • AD Harris High School Tree Inventory Program

    • Pilot-tested a two-week urban forest education module at the high school with one science class. Students collected tree inventory data for entry into the STRATUM program to assess the trees on the school's campus. Students participated in a field-trip to connect what they learned about urban forestry and the relevance of the data they collected to real-world application in the community. Plans to expand the program are in development.
    View Handout [PDF]

  • An Urban Forest Management Plan Guide for Hurricane-prone Communities

    • An effective urban forest management and planning process should be developed and implemented before damage from a windstorm or hurricane occurs. It can also be used as a blue print for post-hurricane response to damage after a storm. This fact sheet brings together the information and tools from previous fact sheets in this hurricane recovery series. It also changes the focus to the community rather than the homeowner or arborist and from individual trees to the urban forest. A management plan needs to be developed for the entire community’s urban forest, which includes all the trees on public and private properties. Communities (e.g. neighborhoods, homeowner associations, towns, or cities) can manage their tree resources to meet common goals and objectives using this process which is outlined by discussing seven general approaches to developing an urban forest management plan for hurricane-prone communities. [PDF]

  • Extensión in Natural Resources: Analyzing a Cost-effective Framework for Educating Spanish Speakers

    • The objective of this proposed project is to analyze cost effective alternatives for disseminating effective information (technically and linguistically correct) in Spanish through extension agents. The project will design an operational framework to evaluate the effectiveness of the translated material methods for delivering this information to the different Hispanic group living throughout Florida. The material produced by this project will be used by citizens with language barriers, extension educators and professionals working in natural resources and the environment. The educational awareness about natural resource and environmental issues created by this project will additionally benefit different community groups such as neighborhood associations, public utility providers, environmental justice organizations, emergency management services, school teachers, private citizens, among others.

  • Ecosystem Services of Florida’s Urban Forests Fact Sheets

    • A series of fact sheets relating to how the urban forests effects our community. Topics include but are not limited to air pollution, stormwater runoff and water quality, urban trees and allergies, and community perceptions.

      • Urban Forests in Florida: Do They Reduce Air Pollution?
        Can trees influence the environmental quality of Florida’s cities and the well-being of their inhabitants?  Several studies have demonstrated that trees can affect air quality and alter the energy used for cooling and heating of buildings. The fact sheet will present the factors behind pollution removal by trees, estimate the amount of air pollution removal for three Florida cities; and finally present some general strategies for managing urban trees for air quality improvement. [PDF]
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      • Urban Forests in Florida: Control Stormwater Runoff and Improve Water Quality
        The loss of natural forests and tree cover in urban areas due to development has resulted in increasing stormwater runoff and decreasing water quality. What does this mean for me? The potential for an increased quantity of pollutants and chemicals flowing into the water supply, potential health risks to citizens, and increased taxpayers’ dollars to treat the water. Communities can lessen the effect of these damages by maintaining or increasing the amount of trees in their communities and by minimizing the amount of impervious surfaces in new community development decreasing the amount of roads, pavement, and other impervious covers in our cities. In Review.
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      • Urban Trees and Allergies
        Trees are an integral part of our communities. Found on city streets, parks, parking lots, and backyards as sources of shade and places of solitude. Trees can be problematic for those with allergies. This fact sheet will review the management and composition of trees in communities, the effects of trees on allergies, and strategies to lessen exposure to allergies by certain trees.
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      • Community Perceptions of Urban Forests in Florida
        Studies from other parts of the US have shown that trees in urban forests can provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Little is know about Floridian's perceptions. A comparison of Florida homeowner perceptions to national perceptions about urban forests will provide insight into public attitudes towards management strategies and help city planners, urban foresters, and natural resource extension agents better understand their audience.
  • A Community Guide to Urban Forest Inventories

    • One of the first steps in understanding these costs and benefits is to gather information about the trees in your urban forest using an urban forest inventory. While we often think about individual trees in an urban setting, collectively these trees are known as an urban forest. This publication defines an urban forest inventory and its advantages. It also reviews some necessary considerations for conducting and funding the inventory. Finally, it provides some options that can assist you in managing your inventory. [PDF]

  • Urban Forest Educational Resources for Teaching Youth

    • The resources listed in this publication provide further background knowledge on urban forests and hands-on, critical thinking activities to supplement existing curricula or programs. Classroom teachers, extension agents, home school parents, nature center staff, foresters, and others interested in helping youth explore their urban environment can benefit from these materials. The majority of the resources can be downloaded from the Internet at no charge or can be obtained by attending a workshop. [PDF]

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Recent Events

  • Florida i-Tree Training Workshop. Florida Division of Forestry, the University of Florida IFAS, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Florida Urban Forestry Council. Plant City, Florida January 24-25, 2008.
  • Árboles y Huracanes. Miami-Dade County Extension Service and University of Florida IFAS. Homestead, Florida July 20, 2007.
  • Fuegos en Florida: Spanish translations for the University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation’s “Fire in Florida” series of short radio spots highlighting aspects of fire in Florida. Para mas informes
  • Trees and Hurricanes: Prevention, Response and Recovery—Florida Workshop Series in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, and Tampa. http://treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu/
  • Florida Trees are Cool PSA: Spanish TV Public Service Announcements for Florida Urban Forestry Council.
  • New England New York i-Tree Workshop, Hartford CT.
  • Miami-Dade County and ICLEI. Cooling our Communities Workshop: Using urban forestry to combat the urban heat island effect in Miami-Dade County.
  • Urban Forest Inventory Symposium: Using i-Tree in Florida’s urban forests.
  • Florida Division of Forestry and Keep Manatee Beautiful — Urban Forestry Workshop.

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Additional Resources

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