Lesson #5: Stewardship
geographies are uneven across
landscape and social scale
Perhaps one of our most important findings comes from
exploring the intersection between stewardship networks
and geography: some places in our cities have more or less
stewardship capacity than others. We found that collective
characteristics of groups working in a space, such as breadth
of focus or level of professionalization, may have the greatest
impact on the density of stewardship groups (vs. population of
an area or the amount of greenspace). Research in Southeastern
New England found that personal relationships were key to
shaping the geography of stewardship. These data about civic
group capacities, geographies, and networks are critical for
developing equitable engagement strategies and outcomes.
Applications for Urban Forestry
Whatever the desired ecological outcome in
communities—better forest health, lowered
urban heat island temperatures, improved
water quality—it is important to cultivate
and recognize volunteers as a social network
that includes many different types of capa-
bilities, capacities, and desires. Building
the network and a degree of trust between
people and between organizations is crit-
ical to achieving many of these outcomes.
There is value in seeing stewardship as
a constellation of actors who contribute
to successful and sustainable urban for-
estry programs. This includes individuals
or groups that can provide a range of
services (e.g. financial, legal, historical,
cultural) to increase capacity and improve
future planning efforts. There is value also
in seeing all stewardship groups as land
managers whose time, knowledge, and
experience is valued, regardless of whether
they are volunteers or paid professionals.
Finally, embracing a diverse community of
stewards is crucial to improving the equi-
table sustainability of our urban forest.
Collectively, we have found that place-
based forums and activities where culture,
stories, and local ecological knowledge
can be mutually shared is essential. Such
experiences create opportunities to engage
people in their own time and on their
own terms, outside the context of a grant
deadline or capital project. By strength-
ening relationships with local residents,
volunteers, and stewardship organizations
over time, urban and community foresters
can be better poised to take on novel and
complex challenges that will inevitably arise.
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Thank you to our collaborators:
Dexter H. Locke, Nancy Sonti, J. Morgan
Grove, Tischa Muñoz-Erickson, Dave Bloniarz,
Brian A. Goldberg, Gerald P. Bauer, Travis
Warziniack, Maria Arroyave, Camille McCarthy,
and Phil Rodbell - USDA Forest Service
Michele Romolini, Loyola Marymount
University; Heather McMillen, Hawaii
Department of Land and Natural Resources;
Rachel Dacks, University of Hawaii; Bryce
DuBois, Rhode Island School of Design; Jesse
Sayles, University of Victoria; Laura Landau,
Rutgers University; Lorien Jasny, University
of Exeter; Krista Heinlen, Davey Institute;
Sophie Plitt, Natural Areas Conservancy
