Seeing the City for the Trees: Urban Tree Canopy Trends and Local Strategies

The urban tree canopy encompasses trees found in the forests, yards, and along streets of cities, towns, and villages. These trees provide critical environmental and social benefits, contributing to resilient watersheds, improved water quality, carbon sequestration, reduced heat islands, and enhanced quality of life. This webinar will present why we should care about the urban tree canopy and lessons learned from a forest and tree canopy inventory conducted across Westchester County. Dr. Andrew Reinmann will share results and applications from the study including spatial and temporal trends in canopy cover and local strategies to maximize the efficacy and benefits of tree planting efforts.

The webinar will also introduce the Planting Westchester initiative, which aims to empower residents to promote and address climate solutions, the restoration of natural resources, and food security through growing and maintaining trees and other plants. Millie Magraw will discuss how the program will use the urban tree canopy inventory to inform where new plantings should be targeted and to educate and engage municipalities in this work.

Speakers:
Dr. Andrew Reinmann, Assistant Professor, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center and Hunter College
Millie Magraw, Water Quality & Planning Program Coordinator, Westchester County Dept. of Planning

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