Table of Contents Michelle L. Johnson, Lindsay K. Campbell, Erika S. Svendsen, and Philip Silva Why Count Trees? Volunteer Motivations and Experiences with Tree Monitoring in New York City ..............................................................................................................................59 Abstract. Volunteer programs can benefit from a deeper understanding of the motivations and experiences of people engaged in cit- izen science. Research to date has studied motivations of citizen scientists and tree-planting volunteers. Less work has focused on tree-monitoring volunteers, a role that is rapidly increasing as more cities involve the public in monitoring the urban for- est. Researchers conducted an assessment of volunteers (n = 636 respondents) of the TreesCount! 2015 street tree census in New York City, New York, U.S., to understand volunteers’ demographics, motivations, experiences, and levels of civic engagement. Semi- structured interviews (n = 40) were also conducted on a subset of the initial assessment respondents, to deepen understanding of these factors. Like tree-planting volunteers in previous studies, volunteers were more likely to be highly educated, female, white, and with high income levels. Top self-identified motivations for participation included personal values, wanting to contribute, and a desire for education or learning. Demographics correlated with different motivations, suggesting opportunities interviews, also identifying a new theme of exploring the city. Street-tree monitoring presents opportunities for target- ing recruitment efforts to better reach underrepresented populations. Researchers also found motivations shiſted slightly in post- census for contrib- uting to one’s community or city, and for learning about trees and urban nature, suggesting these acts of engagement can both strengthen connections to social-ecological systems and provide personal benefits. At the same time, considering volunteer moti- vations, experiences, and outcomes when designing programs can positively affect participation turnout, effort, and retention. Key Words. Citizen Science; Civic Engagement; New York City; Stewardship; Tree Monitoring; Urban Forest. Nick Bancks, Eric A. North, and Gary R. Johnson An Analysis of Agreement Between Volunteer- and Researcher-Collected Urban Tree Inventory Data .............................................................................................................................73 Abstract. In partial fulfillment of a grant to assess the potential impact of emerald ash borer on Minnesota, U.S., community forests, six communi- ties were selected in 2009, and eight communities were selected in 2011, to complete tree surveys or inventories. Trained volunteers in each commu- nity were used to identify, measure, and assess their community trees. Training methods, technical assistance, and measurement tools utilized were updated between 2009 and 2011 based on input from community volunteers and university training staff, allowing for a post hoc study of volunteer efficacy to be conducted. To assess volunteer efficacy and the effect of updated training protocols on data quality, comparisons between volunteer- collected data and university-collected data were analyzed for agreement in genus and species identification, tree measurements, and condition rating for a subsample of trees in each community. Agreement was the greatest for tree identification at the genus level (>90%) and the lowest overall for condition rating (<70%) for all communities. Statistically differences between the 2009 and 2011 communities were detected with 2011 com- munities having higher levels of agreement on average. The increased probability of agreement with university researchers is likely attributable to increased focus on field-instruction, technical assistance, and more sophisticated tools used by the 2011 communities. However, detailed volunteer demographic data for each community was not available for analysis and could provide further insight into differences detected. Decisions to use volunteer collected data should incorporate appropriate levels of training and tool sophistication for the level of specificity required for a project. Key Words. Citizen Science; Community Involvement; Emerald Ash Borer; Minnesota; Tree Inventory; Urban Forest Inventory; Urban Forest Volunteers; Volunteer Data Accuracy; Volunteer Data Quality. Richard J. Hauer, Nilesh Timilsina, Jess Vogt, Burnell C. Fischer, Zach Wirtz, and Ward Peterson A Volunteer and Partnership Baseline for Municipal Forestry Activity in the United States ..........87 Abstract. Communities cultivate citizen support of municipal forestry operations through volunteers and partnerships. Through a national census and survey of urban forestry activity in over 660 municipalities in the United States, researchers found two-thirds of all responding communities involve volunteers in tree activities. This increases from half of small communities (2,500 to 4,999 people) to all large communities (one million or more people) involving volunteers. When tabulated for the United States, a mean national esti- mate of 345,466 (195,754 SEM) people volunteered 1,484,204 (665,460 SEM) hours with municipal tree activities. This equates to 714 (320 SEM) full-time equivalent (2,080 hour-base year) positions. Overall, volunteers completed nearly 5% of municipal tree care activi- ties. Nearly 80% of the municipalities train their volunteers. Tree planting (85% of communities) was the most common activity, followed by tree watering (40%), awareness/education programs (39%), tree pruning (28%), and fundraising (20%). Findings were con- trasted with U.S. census population groups to disaggregate if volunteerism varied by community size. Volunteers were more com- monly involved in communities with a greater urban-forestry capacity derived from a sustainability index score. Six attributes of municipal forestry program had either positive (+) or negative (-) effect on volunteer participation in urban forestry activities. These included adequate budget (-), per capita spending (-), tree board (+), outreach (+), strategic plan (+), and total employment (+). Key Words. Civic Science; Municipal Forestry; Partnership; Volunteer. ©2018 | International Society of Arboriculture | ISSN:1935-5297
March 2018
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