City Trees

Lived Experience, Essential Narratives, Part 2: A Tree Model for Integrating Social Dimensions into Urban Forestry Modified excerpt from the author's PhD dissertation, Learning from Limbwalkers: Arborists' Stories in Southern Ontario's Urban Forests (Bardekjian, 2015). Adrina C. Bardekjian, MFC, PhD Director, Engagement and Research, Tree Canada Adjunct Professor, Institute of Forestry and Conservation, Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto Human connections and experiences with trees have inspired creative interpretations and visual rep- resentations of our cultures, flow, and processes for centuries using the tree (Lima, 2014). In urban forest research, the most commonly used metaphor or visual depiction using a tree involves the values and bene- fits of trees or the depiction of photosynthesis. Drawing on Eisenhardt's model (1989) that theories can be built from case studies, I propose a new conceptual frame- work for exploring urban forestry, a tangible tool for future research considerations and practice analysis that can both build upon the strengths that political ecology presents and help overcome its main challenges in studies of urban for- estry. In homage to my doctoral research (Bardekjian, 2015) interview participants— urban foresters and field arborists—I chose a deciduous tree to depict my model since most partic- ipants identified a red oak (Quercus rubra) as their favoured and respected tree. In the following sub-sections, I describe the various parts and functions of this model, so that it may be understood, built upon, and used in future researches. Based on my research and inspired by my interviewees' insights, I offer this framework as a concept and visual map to inform work at the research/practice interface. This struc- ture serves a dual purpose: it acts as a conceptual framework for urban forestry as well as a process model for moving forward when considering research (e.g. stronger inclusion of lived experience) and practice (e.g. consideration for social theoretical frameworks). Each component should be considered fluid and cyclical as represented by the dotted infinity symbol and branching systems (Figures 1 and 2). Moving upwards from the roots, taking into account the foundational disciplines of urban forestry with specific canons, then into the stem where critical theoretical insights and methodological considerations are fluid, then upwards into the canopy to consider dominant and alternate narra- tives, then finally into the more intimate stories and applied outputs; this model shows the multiple layers of social and ecological complexity and their ever-evolving flow within and around one another in urban forestry (Figure 1). Roots I have presented the dominant roots in this model using com- monly considered foundational fields (Figure 1), but to be clear, there are other disciplines that can be included. Other disciplines that are relevant to urban forestry, but commonly considered foundational, are represented in blue (analogous to water) and feed the roots (dominant disciplines) in a con- ceptual ebb and flow. I did not represent these as fibrous roots since those would need to be clearly off-shoots of a dominant stem. Rather the portrayal of water flowing around the dominant roots depicts their universality. Current and past research has been informed and framed through the themes of these roots; yet, this model shows that the fields upon which urban forestry is built, or in which urban forestry is rooted, must be considered and disassembled in order to understand its current constraints and opportunities. Limbs and branches The dominant limbs are the overarching narratives and themes that embody urban forestry and that active par- ticipants in urban forestry contend with, as revealed through my interviews. There can be many more. The >> 20 CityTREES

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