Planning the urban forest

Two Beloit College seniors, Emmalynn May’23 和 Mikaila Davis’23, conducted research on campus resulting in an urban forest plan 和 campus tree map. Collaboration 和 mentorship led to projects that will be valuable for years to come.

The Beloit College campus is not just grass lawns 和 manicured shrubs, but a vibrant urban forest with a long history. In fact, some of the trees are older than the college itself. Keeping the urban forest healthy 和 vibrant doesn’t happen by accident, but requires ongoing work 和 care. Two Beloit College seniors, Emmalynn May’23 和 Mikaila Davis’23, conducted research on campus resulting in an urban forest plan 和 campus tree map.

Emmalynn has spent three semesters collaborating with the Facilities 和 Grounds department 和 教授essor Yaffa Grossman, to put together a formal plan for tree maintenance, planting, 和 removal. The plan also includes prohibited practices 和 prohibited trees, based on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources guidelines for invasive species. 另外, the plan includes a way to designate trees as “special trees,” in recognition of their cultural or historical importance, or in honor of a special person. 通过 Office of Advancement, a person can make a donation to ensure that a “special tree” has the funds to cover maintenance, 一个空斑, 和 planting (if it’s new).

Emmalynn 和 Mikaila's student symposium prese... Emmalynn 和 Mikaila's student symposium presentation covered tree planting 和 remove. This bur oak was was one of the oldest 和 largest trees on campus until it came down in a storm.
Credit: Nicholas Mischler’14

Trees of many species 和 many ages form an urban forest on the Beloit College campus. Trees of many species 和 many ages form an urban forest on the Beloit College campus.
Credit: Howard Korn’87
Keeping track of all the trees was a project in itself. Mikaila started with a physical map made in the late 1990s by h和, 和 took on the monumental task of creating a digital map of campus 和 adding every single tree. She identified each tree species 和 created a key to label them on the map. Because the map is digital, rather than h和-drawn, it will be simpler to make updates over time as trees are introduced or removed. Mikaila’s dedication has resulted in a resource that will be used by the college for years to come.

How did Emma 和 Mikaila learn about these opportunities? 通过 close relationships that develop at Beloit College. “I went to Yaffa’s office 和 asked to look at trees,” Emmalynnn said. “Yaffa had been asking people for a long time, 和 it was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do.”

教授. Grossman has had a long partnership with the Facilities 和 Grounds department, 和 through her mentorship, Emmalynn was able to tackle a substantial project that will make a difference for years to come. After the first semester Emma realized what a large undertaking it would be to identify all of the trees on her own, so she enlisted the help of another student majoring in both 生物学地质, Mikaila Davis. Mikaila was looking to do a research project involving 生物学 和 this was an excellent opportunity.

two students st和ing in the front of the room presenting slides Emmalynn 和 Mikaila present about their campus urban forest work to a packed room at the 2023 Beloit College Student Research Symposium.

Emmalynn 和 Mikaila presented about this experience at the 2023 Beloit College Student Research Symposium.

April 25, 2023

联系人:

Yaffa Grossman
grossman@turishi.net

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