Figure 2. OurTrees provides community demographic context in addition to forest benefits.
It includes a scorecard that shows how the community ranks with adjacent communities
and it shows what additional benefits would accrue from a 10% increase in canopy cover.
OurTrees Background and Technical Support
i-Tree delivers current, peer-reviewed tree benefit estima-
tion science from the USDA Forest Service to all types of
users through freely accessible tools and support. i-Tree was
established in 2006 as a unique and innovative public/private
partnership among government, business, academic, and
professional organizations including the USDA Forest Service,
Davey Tree Expert Company, Arbor Day Foundation, Society
of Municipal Arborists, International Society of Arboriculture,
Casey Trees, and the State University of New York College of
Environmental Science and Forestry. With over 750,000 users
across 185 countries, i-Tree has grown into the global stan-
dard for quantifying forest structure, function, and value,
while guiding management needs. i-Tree continues to evolve
and expand to reflect improving science as well as user com-
munity needs and feedback. The science behind i-Tree tools
like OurTrees is accessible in a compendium publication:
Understanding i-Tree: Summary of Programs and Methods.
OurTrees, and its ease of use, is just one example of con-
tinued co-development of i-Tree in direct response to
feedback from a growing and diverse user community,
which includes professional arborists and foresters, non-
profits, advocates, educators, innovators, community
residents, government leaders, technicians, and consul-
tants. The individual i-Tree tools vary in purpose, scale,
sophistication, reporting, and user access—but they are
all designed to promote and assist tree and forest man-
agement and to communicate the ecosystem services
trees bring to both the public and community leaders.
The i-Tree team provides full support for all these tools
at www.itreetools.org. The website has helpful guidance
on what tools to use, step-by-step directions, educational
materials including "how-to" videos, the science behind the
tools, example projects, and discussion forums. The i-Tree
team offers regular office hours as well as i-Tree Training
Academies, an ongoing learning series providing a broad intro-
duction to the i-Tree suite of tools. These virtual opportunities
are free for everyone; refer to the i-Tree website regularly
for new sessions and to sign up. If you get stuck on anything
related to i-Tree or have suggestions or success stories, you
can always reach out with an email to info@itreetools.org.
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