Boston Parks And Recreation: First Citywide Tree Inventory Underway

Press release from Boston Parks and Recreation:

May 19, 2021

The first step in our Urban Forest Plan is to count all the City of Boston street trees. We’re more than halfway done with the process, and wanted to share what we’ve found so far!

Earlier this year, the Boston Parks Department launched our first ever Urban Forest Plan. Our hope is that this Urban Forest Plan will help prioritize, preserve, and grow the tree canopy throughout the City of Boston for decades to come. 

Earlier this year, the Boston Parks Department launched our first ever Urban Forest Plan Urban Forest Plan Urban Forest Plan . Our hope is that this Urban Forest Plan will help prioritize, preserve, and grow the tree canopy throughout the City of Boston for decades to come.  . Our hope is that this Urban Forest Plan will help prioritize, preserve, and grow the tree canopy throughout the City of Boston for decades to come. 

The Boston Urban Forest Plan will be a year-long effort made up of several phases. The first part of our work is an urban forest street tree inventory — an assessment of the existing conditions of the public street trees throughout the City. This canopy inventory kicked off earlier this year, carried out by a team of five trained arborists from PlanIt Geo. These arborists are currently traveling each City street, counting, mapping, and assessing each tree.

The Boston Urban Forest Plan will be a year-long effort made up of several phases. The first part of our work is an urban forest  an assessment of the existing conditions of the public street trees throughout the City. This canopy inventory kicked off earlier this year, carried out by a team of five trained arborists from PlanIt Geo. These arborists are currently traveling each City street, counting, mapping, and assessing each tree.

 Our team of hard-working arborists are working from north to south throughout the city. As of May 2021, they have surveyed 11 neighborhoods, and are more than halfway done with the process.

Our team of hard-working arborists are working from north to south throughout the city. As of May 2021, they have surveyed 11 neighborhoods, and are more than halfway done with the process.

The data collected during this tree inventory will provide an important snapshot in time of the condition of Boston’s street trees. This tree inventory will serve as a key benchmark for the Urban Forest Plan, and the data will provide information that will guide future decisions. We expect to complete the tree inventory around August and will publish the data once quality control is complete. In the coming weeks we will survey the following neighborhoods in this order: Hyde Park, Dorchester, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury.

The data collected during this tree inventory will provide an important snapshot in time of the condition of Boston’s street trees. This tree inventory will serve as a key benchmark for the Urban Forest Plan, and the data will provide information that will guide future decisions. We expect to complete the tree inventory around August and will publish the data once quality control is complete. In the coming weeks we will survey the following neighborhoods in this order: Hyde Park, Dorchester, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury.

Interested in becoming an arborist or learning more about tree care professions? This planning process will include community conversations around workforce development and how the Urban Forest Plan can support careers in tree care. Stay up-to-date on each phase of the Urban Forest Plan by signing up for our Healthy Places Newsletter! 

Interested in becoming an arborist or learning more about tree care professions? This planning process will include community conversations around workforce development and how the Urban Forest Plan can support careers in tree care. Stay up-to-date on each phase of the Urban Forest Plan by signing up for our Healthy Places Newsletter!  Healthy Places Newsletter!  Healthy Places Newsletter! 

This press release was produced by Boston Parks and Recreation. The views expressed here are the author’s own.