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Funded Project |
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Funding Program:
IPM Enhancement Grants |
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Project Title:
MyTree: Using citizen science to teach and learn about tree IPM in the city
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Project Directors (PDs):
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Lead State: NC Lead Organization: North Carolina State University |
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Cooperating State(s):
Delaware, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee |
| Undesignated Funding: $29,866 |
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Start Date: Mar-01-2017 End Date: Feb-28-2018 |
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Pests Involved: scale insects |
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Site/Commodity: urban trees, forests |
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Area of Emphasis: tree IPM, citizen science |
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Summary:
Trees provide a suite of ecosystem services that improve human and environmental health. Unfortunately, urban trees are subject to environmental stressors, including high temperatures and drought, that reduce these services and make trees more susceptible to arthropod pests. The problem addressed by this proposal is that we do not understand the extent to which environmental stress and pests reduce tree growth and services across large geographic areas. Thus, we have no basis for selecting tree species and planting sites in which trees will thrive as the climate around them warms. Understanding how mature tree growth, pest infestation, and health respond to warming and urbanization in the Southeast will require monitoring hundreds or thousands of trees across gradients of urbanization, latitude, and altitude. This is a perfect opportunity to engage citizen scientists and regional cooperators to learn about and teach about the urban and climatic conditions under which trees, specifically red maples, thrive and resist pests versus conditions under which they grow poorly and require pesticide or other interventions. Our objective is to initiate a citizen science project to 1) determine how urbanization and background temperature affect tree growth and pest abundance and 2) to develop IPM and planting recommendations and educate Extension personnel, end users, and the public. We will focus recruitment on Master Gardeners to increase the educational impact of our project. With expertise in tree IPM, citizen science, and extension and with cooperators in 5 states our team will deliver extension resources to diverse clientele across the Southeast.
Objectives: Our objective is to initiate a citizen science project to 1) determine how urbanization and background temperature affect tree growth and pest abundance and 2) to develop IPM and planting recommendations and educate Extension personnel, end users, and the public. We will focus recruitment on Master Gardeners to increase the educational impact of our project. With expertise in tree IPM, citizen science, and extension and with cooperators in 5 states our team will deliver extension resources to diverse clientele across the Southeast. |
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Final Report: |
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Outputs *over 200 citizen scientists enrolled *participants from 34 states and 3 Canadian provinces *states with the most participants are North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania, respectively *received recruiting help from many people and organizations, including master gardener coordinators and other extension staff, the Crowd and the Cloud PBS program with SciStarter, The Habitat Network, and municipalities *9 presentations, 2 guest lectures *1 website, 2 blog posts |
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Outcomes Engaged over 200 volunteers including Master Gardener volunteers in research about trees, urbanization, and climate. Taught extension clientele and scientists and university students with presentations. |
| Report Appendices |
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