84 Mincey and Vogt: Watering Strategy, Collective Action, and Neighborhood-Planted Trees Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2014. 40(2): 84–95 Watering Strategy, Collective Action, and Neighborhood-Planted Trees: A Case Study of Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Sarah K. Mincey and Jessica M. Vogt Abstract. A growing number of municipalities and nonprofits work with private citizens to co-produce the public benefits associated with urban forests by providing sizeable young trees to neighborhoods that agree to plant and water the trees for the critical first few years aſter planting. Little research has addressed the effectiveness of such programs or the extent to which variation in neighborhood maintenance and watering strategies may be related to biophysical and social outcomes. Without such knowledge, tree-planting investments are at risk of being a sink of public or charitable funds. This paper presents a case study of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.’s neighborhood tree plantings in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., where researchers explored the relationship of neighborhood watering strategies with planted-tree outcomes, and with subsequent collective activities. The study authors observed neighborhood variation in whether trees were watered by individuals or collectively (groups of individuals), whether signed watering commitments were utilized, whether monitoring of watering occurred, and whether monitoring and subsequent sanctioning (when necessary) changed watering behavior. Results demonstrate that collective watering, signed watering agreements, and monitoring/sanctioning that changed behavior were positively associated with tree survival. Collective watering was also positively associated with subsequent collective activities, such as a neighborhood clean-up or block party. Such findings can improve the guidance offered by municipalities and nonprofits to neighborhoods for the management of success- ful tree-planting projects, and can ultimately improve the survival, growth, and thereby benefits provided by neighborhood-planted trees. Key Words. Collective Action; Indiana; Indianapolis; Institutions; Planting; Tree-planting Programs; Urban Forest Management; Watering. Urban forests provide myriad ecosystem services that constitute public goods. Municipalities and nonprofits interested in the provision of public ben- efits are increasingly engaged in a variety of tree conservation and planting strategies. In fact, recent research finds that 127 (40%) of 329 sampled U.S. cities with populations over 50,000 have adopted an urban tree canopy cover goal, and 246 (74.7%) have adopted a tree ordinance specifying tree-planting requirements for developers (Krause 2011). Less is known about the number of nonprofits engaged in tree conservation and planting strategies. Approxi- mately 200 organizations are members of Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees), a U.S.-based or- ganization that supports grassroots, citizen-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to urban and community tree planting and care (ACTrees 2012). Many of ACTrees’ member organizations serve a dual mission to improve the provision of urban trees and to engage their communities by empowering ©2014 International Society of Arboriculture people in collective efforts for public good. ACTrees organizations work primarily through community groups (e.g., churches, civic organizations) and neighborhood associations comprising individual citizens. To this end, some provide free or reduced- cost trees to groups that apply and have developed a plan to water young trees aſter planting; aſter all, it costs approximately USD $150 to plant a street tree, while both planting and providing two years of maintenance costs approximately $250 (ACTrees 2012). With watering maintenance (and its costs) pledged by community group applicants, tree- planting organizations cover tree stock and planting expenses through donated funds, partnerships with municipalities, or through cost-share agreements with groups receiving trees. Thus, nonprofits work synergistically with these community groups to co- produce (cooperatively manage through planting and watering) the urban forest, relying on these groups to internally fulfill their watering commitments.
March 2014
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