Communicating the Economic and Ecological Values of Urban and Community Forests (03-DG-11244225-425)

This project aimed at educating and informing local governments of the economic and ecological values of urban forests.

ICMA seeks to educate and inform local government officials about the economic and ecological values of urban forests. The project will empower local government managers to integrate trees as green infrastructure into their community's planning. Specifically, ICMA will:

• Produce a clearinghouse of urban forestry resources on its Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN) web site;

• Promote and conduct a webcast to identify the benefits of green infrastructure;

• Host an urban forestry workshop at its 2004 Annual Conference; and

• Poll local government officials and gather their attitudes, needs, and success stories on urban and community forestry.

Project objectives:

ICMA's project objectives include:

■ Demonstrating the economic and ecological benefits of urban forests as municipal assets;

■ Providing tools and resources for local officials to improve and preserve urban forests; and

■ Facilitating a feedback mechanism between local government officials and urban forestry researchers/practitioners.

ICMA will satisfy the project objectives through a number of deliverables, including:

■ Developing of an online clearinghouse of urban forestry information for local decision makers on the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN) web site;

■ Convening a national group of local government officials for a webcast focusing on the economic and ecological benefits of urban forestry;

■ Hosting a workshop at ICMA's 2004 Annual Conference in San Diego, California, to further raise local government awareness of urban forestry practices; and

■ Soliciting local decision makers' needs through online surveys and sharing that information with urban forestry researchers to guide future activities.

Attachments

Click here to download this final grant report as a PDF.