Susie Peterson, Neighborhood Trees Specialist, Friends of Trees, discusses a program to educate neighbors on tree care at the 2013 ACTrees Day.

1. SUMMER INSPECTOR PROGRAM
Social Pressure for Better Tree Health
Friends of Trees
Portland, OR

2. Why social pressure for
better tree health?
We feel that a neighbor is more likely to
convince someone to care for their tree than we
(or the city, or anyone else) are.

3. ABOUT FRIENDS OF TREES

4. Mission Statement
To bring people in the Portland-Vancouver and
Eugene-Springfield metro areas together to
plant and care for city trees and green spaces.

5. Vancouver
Began 24 years ago. Non-profit that uses planting trees as a
tool to build community.

6. Planting Programs Overview
• Neighborhood Trees
(street & yard trees):
- 7 staff members
- About 1,800 volunteers
- Over 4,000 large (1.5”+
caliper) trees per season
• Green Spaces Initiative
(natural area trees & shrubs):
- 3 staff members
- About 1,700 volunteers
- 23,000 smaller trees and
shrubs per planting season

7. SUMMER INSPECTOR
PROGRAM

8. POLL
How many currently have some form of monitoring
program for newly planted trees?
How many are wanting to start one?

9. How did it get started?
Grey-to-Green Initiative
• Citizens voted for green infrastructure over gray
infrastructure, creating G2G Initiative
• Part 1: ‘Big Pipe’ installed underground to hold
more stormwater overflow
• Part 2: City sets goal to plant 83,000 street trees
• FOT bid on and won contract with city to plant
20,000 street trees
• Scope of work included developing tree survival
monitoring program

10. What is the goal?
Provide tree care education to new tree owners so that
their trees will:
• survive their first growing season
• become long-term assets to their community

11. How do we do that?
• Mail watering postcard after rains stop (early May)
• Educate new tree owners on the best practices of
general tree care through conversations and
informative door-hangers (train the trainer technique)
• Record tree health data

12. Most inspectors just received trees through our planting
program the previous year and this is the volunteer role
they chose.
Inspects 30 trees in their neighborhood.
New tree owner receives doorhanger (“report card”)
and feels social pressure to better care for tree.
Neighbors now know each other. Trained inspector is
resource to community.

13. VOLUNTEERS

14. Recruiting
Volunteer
• Planting volunteers
• Internet – website,
social media,
email/treemail,
listserves
• Outreach events
• Word of mouth
• Posters
• Yard signs
• Tree signs

15. Who are our Summer Inspectors?
250 volunteers per summer
Arborists
Tree recipients
(past and present)
Crew Leaders
General
public

16. WHAT TREES ARE WE
INSPECTING?

17. MAINLY - Tier I: first year trees (trees inspected
one summer only, twice during the summer)
Also - Tier II: 15% of trees planted 2 years ago (same trees inspected two
summers in a row, once per summer). Measure caliper, height and width.
Also - Tier Omega: 15% of trees planted in 2009-10 (same trees inspected
annually - to be analyzed over extended period of time, once per summer).

18. Tier I Inspections for 2011-12
Planting Season
• Total of 4,782 newly
planted trees inspected
• 86% new street trees
• 12% new yard trees
• 51 genera
• 134 species
• 97% survival rate for newly
planted trees

19. Tier II & Tier Omega
Inspections for 2011-12 Planting Season
• Tier II: 614 trees inspected (90.4% survival rate)
• Tier Omega: 473 trees inspected (89.9% survival rate)

20. TRAINING

21. When:
first weekend in
June
Morning session:
classroom portion
Afternoon session:
inspection route in
neighborhood with
certified arborist

22. Site Visits - 7 Health Conditions
• Site Conditions
– Soil moisture
– Mulch
– Weeds
• Tree Health
– Bark damage
– Broken branches
– Suckers
– Canopy assessment

23. Doorhangers
• 7 health conditions listed
• Circle thumbs up for pass
• Circle thumbs down for fail
• Websites for more
information on tree care
• Free mulch at our office
(arborist donations)

24. Getting data from volunteers
Provide link to shared Google document
(or mail spreadsheet, or drop off at our office)
Inspect twice per summer – separate doc per round:
– July 1 (Round 1)
– August 15 (Round 2)

26. ANALYZING INSPECTION
RESULTS

27. Uploading Inspection Results
• Save Google document as Excel
spreadsheet
• Customized Access database
uploads information from Excel
spreadsheet
• Point rating system tells us if tree
is Good, Ok, Bad or Dead

28. Storage of Data
Database allows entry of detailed information such as:
• Genus, species, cultivar, stock size, stock type, nursery
of origin, date planted, street address, homeowner
contact information
• Volunteer inspector ratings and notes
• Staff can change health ratings and enter their own
additional notes
• “Replace” checkbox available for any trees that will be
replaced the next season

29. What do we do with all this
data?

30. Determine why trees are dying:
• Neglect
• Transplant shock
Social Pressure comes to the rescue:
– Counterintuitively, trees look better at end of summer
– Pressure from neighbor/inspector and doorhanger
(report card) to better care for trees

31. Analyze which genus and species
are thriving:
Genus
Qty
Dead
(Genus)
Acer
36
Quercus
19
Magnolia
17
Qty
Percent
Planted Dead Species Breakdown,
(Genus) (Genus) by Cultivar
Rocky Mtn Glow
796
4.52% Maple
Paperbark Maple
Bigleaf Maple
Flame Maple
248
7.66% Scarlet Oak
Forest Green Oak
Crimson Spire Oak
Oregon White Oak
Swamp White Oak
182
9.34% Elizabeth Magnolia
Bracken’s Brown
Beauty
Lennei Magnolia
Butterflies Magnolia
Edith Bogue Magnolia
Yulan Magnolia
Qty
Percent
Qty Dead Planted
Dead
(Species) (Species) (Species)
15
13
4
3
9
5
2
1
1
12
309
276
42
83
81
42
38
41
15
47
4.85%
4.71%
9.52%
3.61%
11.11%
11.90%
5.26%
2.43%
6.67%
25.53%
8
2
1
1
1
22
15
19
24
15
36.36%
13.33%
5.26%
4.17%
6.67%

32. Compare tree health/survival
between different parts of the city:

33. Analyze which root stocks have
highest survival ratings:
Root Stock
Balled &
Burlapped
Bare Root
Containerized
Root Control
Bag
Unknown
Total
Planted
% of Total
Planted
Total
Dead
% of Root Stock
Dead
2886
650
818
60.3%
13.5%
17.1%
92
21
22
3.1%
3.2%
2.6%
330
98
6.9%
2%
8
3
2.4%
3.0%
Table 7 – Root Stock of Trees - Comparison of Root Stock of Dead Trees for PS-12

34. Answer questions that will guide
your program, such as:
Is a person more likely to care for their tree if they pay for it?
(does not appear to be so)
Is a person more likely to care for their tree if they help plant it?
(appears to be so)
Participation
Qty
Paid for Trees, Signed up to Volunteer 86
Paid for Trees, Did Not Plant
12
Free Trees, Signed up to Volunteer
21
Free Trees, Did Not Plant
19
Free Trees, No Participation, No Tree
Choice
8
Total
146
Trees Rated "Dead"
% of
Qty of Total % of Total
Dead
Planted
Planted
58.9%
3053
2.8%
8.2%
473
2.5%
14.4%
626
3.4%
13.0%
447
4.3%
5.5%
Table 13 – Tree Mortality and Treecipient Involvement
183
4782
4.4%

35. Monitoring Report

36. • Submit with grant requests to show success
of our planting program
• Helps us market our planting program to
future participants
• The information helps our program and other
tree programs in the region

37. Monitoring Report Addresses:
• Condition & survival of newly planted trees
• Genus & species composition
• Performance trends based on genus, species &
cultivar
• Assessment of planting conditions (stock type, time
of year planted, location of planting )
• Condition & survival of 15% of 2 year-old trees (Tier
II)
• Condition & survival of 15% of 2009-10 trees (Tier
Omega)

38. In 20 Years
• Will have collected large amount of data on trees
planted through our program
• Combine our tree data with other tree data collected
by city, iTrees, and others
• Better understanding of species survival
• Handheld technology to collect data
• Educated citizens who value trees and know how to
care for them

40. To view our Monitoring Report, or view this slideshow in
closer detail, check out our blog posting here:
http://friendsoftrees.org/blog/2013/11/01/friends-of-trees-visits-pittsburgh
Susie Peterson
Neighborhood Trees Specialist
susiep@friendsoftrees.org
503-467-2516