AgEBB-MU CAFNR Extension
Green Horizons
Volume 21, Number 3
Fall 2017
Agroforestry
Track one million trees? Yep, there's an app for that!
By Tom Ebeling| Forest ReLeaf of Missouri
The Missouri Community Forestry Council (MCFC) communications committee approached the MCFC executive board with an initiative to plant and verify one million trees by the year 2020. The MCFC executive council approved the goal in June of 2014, and since then, efforts have been made to move the goal forward. This initiative is known as the 20/20 Vision.
Planting one million trees is one thing. The physical counting of those one million trees is another thing. The goals for developing a tool to track these newly planted trees are to provide a means for the general public to engage in urban forestry efforts; accurately record the locations of trees that are planted as a part of the 20/20 Vision; and show the ecological and monetary value of the trees that are being planted.
The solution to this problem, in true contemporary form, is to create an app for that! Utilizing TRIM (Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance) Grants from the Missouri Department of Conservation, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri partnered with Plan-it GEO, a Denver based urban forestry and GIS firm, and developed a web-accessible tree-plotting app.
The app, PlantMOreTrees, is a user friendly, GIS- based tree-plotting tool that provides the general public, as well as non-profit and private entities, with a means of recording where and when they plant a tree.
Not only does the tool allow an individual to record the exact location of a tree, but it also asks for information such as the species of tree, the size of the tree at planting and the type of nursery stock planted. All of these pieces of information will be crucial in the future for evaluating the success of the planting projects. In addition to providing a baseline for studies in the future, the tool also provides several interesting calculations pertaining to the ecosystem services provided by the trees, for example the amount of energy savings obtained or the amount of carbon sequestered.
The 20/20 Vision and Plant More Trees app were initially introduced at the 2016 MCFC conference in St. Joseph, MO. Donna Coble and Tom Ebeling with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri presented the 20/20 Vision, and how individuals and organizations can help move MCFC towards the goal of planting one million trees by the year 2020. Ian Hanou from Plan-it GEO demonstrated the many features of the app itself.
Improvements to the app were made through the TRIM grant, the tool was officially launched to the public at the 2017 MCFC conference in Springfield, MO. Check out the app at pg-cloud.com/plantmoretrees.
Acting under the direction of the MCFC communications committee, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri will be heading an effort to spread the word about the 20/20 Vision and the PlantMOreTrees app to local municipalities and other tree planting organizations that could utilize the tool. If you are interested in learning about either, contact Tom Ebeling with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri at tom@moreleaf.org.