WWIAF Field & Stream "Heroes for a Day"

As part of his Federal Formula Funds study Returning Warriors : A Study of the Social-Ecological Benefits of Coming Home to Nature, Tidball recently participated in the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation's habitat restoration activities at Camp Hackett in northern Wisconsin.  This activity was recognized by Field & Stream's Hero for a Day project and was filmed by the Field and Stream crew to be highlighted here.

Local news media also covered the event.  See the below links:

video  http://www.waow.com/story/17901697/wounded-warrior-in-action-foundation-helps-purple-heart-veterans-in-phillips

video  http://cdn.bimfs.com/WJFW/4b389204416439bed6a3bbf0b964121dea8ac195_fl9.mp4

http://www.wjfw.com/email_story.html?SKU=20120429154342

My photographs from the event can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wheniwax/sets/72157629561185630/

More photos from the Field & Stream staff, here:
http://www.wisconsinoutdoorfun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=U0&Dato=20120430&Kategori=WOF06&Lopenr=204300801&Ref=PH

URBIS in Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Israel recently hosted a 2 day workshop on URBIS - Urban Biospheres, a collaborative program among partners such the Cornell DNR Civic Ecology Lab, the Stockholm Resilience Center, ICLEI, UNESCO, and others.   Keith Tidball was among thirteen international experts in ecology, biodiversity management and community engagement, who convened with over 50 key local professionals to produce strategies for moving forward with an urban biosphere concept that transcends municipal boundaries and is based on cooperation in the region. Their work, using Jerusalem as a case study, is currently being summarized for presentation at the Rio+20 Summit in June. The following are reviews of the workshop and two pieces on the symbolically important swift (apus apus) including a short film documenting the Annual Welcome Ceremony for the Swifts at the Western Wall, which concluded the workshop events:

http://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/europe/?9465/Towards-sustainable-urban-planning-in-Jerusalem

http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=535

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfZpyHdL5ns&feature=youtu.be

New publication-- Chapter in Citizen Science, Public Participation in Environmental Research

This book is out now-- Citizen Science, Public Participation in Environmental Research

See Chapter 16. A Role for Citizen Science in Disaster and Conflict Recovery and Resilience
by Keith G. Tidball and Marianne E. Krasny

Greening in the Red Zone Book Interview

Weatherproofing Your Landscape: Since You Asked...About Greening in the Red Zone: The new year isn't even a month old, and communities from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South have already experienced severe—in some ca...

NCSE Environment & Security Conference

The Cornell University Civic Ecology Lab was a collaborating organization at the recently held NCSE 2012 conference on Environment & Security. Tidball presented Greening in the Red Zone, and also served as a panel member in a session on Environmental Literacy and Security.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges - Daily Updates

Hobart and William Smith Colleges - Daily Updates

2011 Global Environmental Action Conference Tokyo, Japan

I was invited to present at the GEA International Conference 2011 entitled Building Sustainable Societies through Reconstruction, Working with the International Community for Regenerating Japan," held in Tokyo, Japan on 14th and 15th of October, 2011. The Conference was opened with the attendance of H.I.H Crown Prince, Naruhito, GEA Chairman, Mr. Juro Saito and Mr.Yoshihiko Noda Prime Minister of Japan. Director-General of GEA, Ms. Wakako Hironaka presided over the Conference as its Chair.

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito

Japan's Prime Minister Noda

Keith  Tidball of Cornell University
Civic  Ecology Lab and NY EDEN

The conference was organized by the Global Environmental Action (GEA) supported by the Government of Japan, namely, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and Ministry of the Environment. The Conference aimed to undertake a high-level policy dialogue in order to articulate concrete measures to realize sustainable societies not only in Japan, but also in the international community, capitalizing on Japan’s experience of the recent earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters.

Pictures from the meeting are here. My presentations in English and Japanese appear below:

Gea 2011 presentation

My presentation in Japanese is here:

Greening in the Red Zone GEA japanese translation

Serious business: The evidence on heat waves

Some EDEN work appeared on the College of Human Ecology blog Evidence-Based Living...click on the picture.

Letter from Commissioner of NYS Ag & Mkts re EDEN

CCE Helps Soldiers and Families Navigate the Deployment Cycle

A recent CCE "Feature Story"... click on the photo.

New coordinator brings fresh ideas to disaster response in NYS, hopes to learn from Japan crisis

A recent piece in the CCE at 100 blog...

Urgent Biophilia- Presentation at Resilience 2011

This presentation is Chapter 4 of the forthcoming book Greening in the Red Zone: Disaster, Resilience, and Community Greening.

Urgent Biophilia - Resilience 2011

For the full chapter in PDF form, see Civic Ecology Lab Publications.

Tidball Named New EDEN Coordinator for New York State

New York Extension Disaster Education Network (NY EDEN) has a
New Coordinator

Conceptual Framework for Civic Ecology Education

My latest article "Urban Environmental Education From a Social-Ecological Perspective: Conceptual Framework for Civic Ecology Education" has been published in Cities and the Environment (CATE).

http://escholarship.bc.edu/cate/vol3/iss1/11/

"Oak Hatred" in Historic Sweden

On a recent trip to Sweden I was talking to a few of my colleagues about my interests in tree symbolism, while on a hike through a forested area in Stockholm featuring a few ancient oaks. My colleagues related to me the following: "a monarch decided in the 16th or 17th Century that oak were not to be cut since they should be used for warship building. This resulted in noblemen being ordered to protect oaks, whereas farmers stamped out and killed oak seedlings as fast as they could. If the farmers let the oaks grow up, they would loose usable land surface. So, on the whole, we lost oaks."

I found this accounting for the decline in oaks interesting both in terms of symbolic importance, and in terms of unintended consequences of management within Social-Ecological Systems.

I looked into this further and discovered a scholarly accounting of this phenomena by Per Eliasson, University of Lund, Sweden. He says, in a paper titled "The political history of the oaks in Sweden from the 16th to 20th century," that "The conflict in Sweden between the state power and the peasants over oak trees was one about many different values – culture, economy, politics and ecology. It was not only about ownership and timber, but also about the oaks role in damaging the crops and about the oak as a symbol of the crown." In another related paper titled "The Oak Tree, from Peasant Torment to a Unifying Concept of Landscape Management" by Jerker Moström of the National Heritage Board of Sweden, we learn of the Swedish historical expression “Tender oak trees and young noblemen should be hated,” an ironic peasant saying originating from the 18th century. According to Moström, the saying expresses the hatred within the peasant community towards the nobility and the oak trees at that time, caused by what they perceived as injustices in the contemporary Swedish forestry acts. He says that during the 17th century the oak became not only an important source of income for the nobility but also a physical symbol of the wealth and power of the aristocracy.

These papers and others can be found in the proceedings from a conference held in Linköpin, Sweden called The Oak – History, Ecology, Management and Planning, report 5617, May 2006. I found this interesting to contrast with the symbolism of the oak in the New World, especially the contemporary meanings I am exploring of the Live Oak in post-Katrina New Orleans and more broadly within the Gulf Coast region. These symbolic meanings of the oak and other trees in post-Katrina New Orleans are treated in depth in the forthcoming book Greening in the Red Zone in a chapter titled: Trees and Rebirth: Symbol, Ritual, and Resilience in Post-Katrina New Orleans.

Anthropology, Science and the Art of Media Sensationalization

Recently, a colleague known for "button-pushing" found ammunition to load his derision gun with, in the media hype surrounding the American Anthropological Association's (AAA) so -called controversy regarding science. Hundreds of anthropologists voiced their concern to the New York Times a few days later. The AAA has since posted a response to the public controversy over science in anthropology, in which they state: Some recent media coverage, including an article in the New York Times, has portrayed anthropology as divided between those who practice it as a science and those who do not, and has given the mistaken impression that the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Executive Board believes that science no longer has a place in anthropology. On the contrary, the Executive Board recognizes and endorses the crucial place of the scientific method in much anthropological research.

Stay tuned.

URBIS Gains Traction

The URBIS Partnerships initiative has gained some traction within the UN system and appears to be poised to become a major player in the Global Biodiversity discussion. A landmark agreement was signed at the COP 10 meetings in Nagoya, Japan by CBD Global Partnership of Cities and Biodiversity and other collaborators.

Click here for a journal article about URBIS.

Presentation at City Summit, COP 10- Nagoya, Japan

I recently was invited to contribute to the climate change discourse on an international stage, at the COP 10 (Convention on Biological Diversity) meetings in Nagoya, Japan. Here are some photographs and the presentation I gave as part of the Cities and Biodiversity Summit.

COP 10 cities & biodiversity summit

View more presentations from Keith Tidball.

World Expo Shanghai

I was fortunate to be a part of a number of events hosted by the Swedish Government and the Stockholm Resilience Center at the World Expo in Shanghai!

One event was the "Future cities, Future citizens" Open Seminar at Nordic Light House, Shanghai, China.

I was especially proud of the work of Rocking the Boat at the event.

For pictures of the amazing city of Shanghai, see here.

Greening in the Red Zone in AnthroNews

October Anthropology News In Focus commentaries on disaster relief and recovery are now posted on the American Anthropological Association's Current Featured News page, free to the public throughout the month. This month’s In Focus articles are by Susanna M Hoffman; Jane Henrici; Miriam S Chaiken; Roberto Barrios; Michele Ruth Gamburd and Dennis B McGilvray; Keith G Tidball; Susann Ullberg; Lakshmi Fjord; and Anthony Oliver-Smith. Full issue content is available via AnthroSource, including additional thematic articles from other sections by contributors Graham A Tobin, Linda M Whiteford, Eric C Jones and Arthur D Murphy; Laura Wagner; Jérôme Grimaud; Marisa O Ensor; Howard F Stein; and Adam Koons.

This month’s issue also features color photographs in the online version.

After the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, AN immediately began hearing anthropologists discuss how they might contribute to recovery efforts. This was no surprise, given anthropologists’ frequent engagement with human rights, public health and social justice issues. With many practicing and academic anthropologists deeply involved with short- and long-term disaster relief and recovery efforts throughout the world, this thematic series explores how anthropology can make a difference in such challenging circumstances.

NAAEE 2010

The North American Association of Environmental Education held its annual meeting in Buffalo, NY this year. I was fortunate to be asked to serve as one of two respondents to the keynote address, given by Stephen Kellert. The remarks I made can be found here.

Dr. Kellert and I enjoyed some down-time after our presentations and explored Niagara Falls from the ever-popular Maid of the Mists. It was great getting to know him better, and comparing notes on biophilia, Urgent Biophilia, and even how hunting and fishing might be explored as expressions of Biophilia... stay tuned for more on that.

A-bomb survivor trees

Citizen Science in Disaster and Conflict Resilience presented at ESA

Citizen science in disaster and conflict resilience esa 2010

View more presentations from Keith Tidball.

Ecology of Environmental Education Presented at ESA

Tidball joins the journal Ecology and Society editorial board.

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/about/editors.php .

Emergence

Had to post this... emergence being so important to resilience...

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2005/02/18

Trees please

Trees please

Citizen involvement in wetland restoration

See also a related report in the Cayuga Lake Watershed News here.

View more presentations from Keith Tidball.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GRANT AWARD

EINAUDI CENTER INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GRANT AWARDS

Keith Tidball was among the 62 research travel grants for the 2010-2011 academic year awarded by the Einaudi Center. The recipients came from a variety of graduate fields across seven colleges. Most recipients (40%) are headed to Asia. A sizable number are traveling to Europe (25%), Africa (25%) and Latin America (10%) respectively.

Tidball's research proposal is titled "Greening and Greenspace as Conflict Amelioration in a South African Informal Settlement."

To view recipients of travel grants and explore the new interactive world map that provides an overview of their destinations, see http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/funding/tg_recipients.asp.

URBIS Partnership Proposal presented at World Urban Forum, 22-26 March 2010, Brazil

A Conversation with Students in Stockholm

I was invited to speak with a group of about a 100 young people attending Global College, an upper secondary school that is located in the center of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Global College is a public school with approximately 400 students between the ages of 16-19, and 25 teachers. All public schooling in Sweden is free of charge and co-educational.

Thomas Elmqvist from the Stockholm Resilience Center spoke about global change and teh importance of resilient strategies for the urban environment. I spoke with the students about New York City's Million Trees campaign. The questions these students asked were insightful and plentiful. I was impressed. And I was proud of New York City.

Presentation at Stockholm Resilience Center

Memory and disaster resilience src mar 2010

View more presentations from Keith Tidball.

NYC Million Trees Symposium a success

Click here for the Cornell Chronicle news story about the event.

Presentation at NYC Million Trees Symposium

Krasny & tidball mtnyc 2010

View more presentations from Keith Tidball.

New article published in the Journal of Extension

Civic Ecology: Linking Social and Ecological Approaches in Extension

Marianne E. Krasny, Cornell University

Keith G. Tidball, Cornell University

Civic ecology refers to the philosophy and science of community forestry, community gardening, watershed enhancement, and other volunteer-driven restoration practices in cities and elsewhere. Such practices, although often viewed as initiatives to improve a degraded environment, also foster social attributes of resilient social-ecological systems, including volunteer engagement and social connectedness. Civic ecology education refers to the learning, as well as the social and ecosystem outcomes, that occur when young people and other novices engage alongside experienced adults in civic ecology practice. As Extension considers its role in civic ecology education, there will be opportunities for both participation and leadership.

Click here for the full article.

UNESCO URBIS Partnerships concept

I have been working with colleagues at UNESCO NYO and the Stockholm Resilience Center, among others to build upon the work of CUBES to promote the concept of urban biosphere reserves. This concept was explored in depth in the book Urban Biosphere and Society: Partnership of Cities, edited by my colleague Christine Alfsen-Norodom.

Taking cues from the New York State Agricultural Environmental Management program's multi-tiered approach to stewardship, we are now working towards a designation process that uses a tiered approach to enable cities to work their way through comprehensive planning processes that link social and ecological sustainability. Successful implementation of five "urban sustainable comprehensive planning" tiers is envisioned to result in high-visibility designations of cities as "URBIS Partnership Cities of Distinction."

This prototypical concept is a work in progress, and is expected to be unveiled at a UNESCO URBIS Open House on March 4,2010, and in more depth at a poster presentation at the Million Trees NYC Research Symposium March 5-6, 2010.

New Article Published in the journal Cities and the Environment

Community Gardens as Contexts for Science, Stewardship,and Civic Action Learning

Marianne E. Krasny, Cornell University
Keith G. Tidball, Cornell University

Community gardens are heterogeneous environments that integrate environmental restoration, community activism, social interactions, cultural expression, and food security. As such, they provide a context for learning that addresses multiple societal goals, including a populace that is scientifically literate, practices environmental stewardship, and participates in civic life. Several theories are useful in describing the learning that occurs in community gardens, including those focusing on learning as acquisition of content by individuals, learning as interaction with other individuals and the environment and as increasingly skilled levels of participation in a community of practice, and social learning among groups of stakeholders leading to concerted action to enhance natural resources. In this paper, we use preliminary evidence from the Garden Mosaics intergenerational education program to suggest the potential for community gardens to foster multiple types of learning.

Click HERE for the full article.

Social Life of Trees- American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting 2009 presentation

Trees and Rebirth: Resilience, Ritual and Symbol in Community‐based Urban Reforestation Recovery Efforts in Post‐Katrina New Orleans

View more documents from Keith Tidball.

Tidball et al., 2009. "The Case for a Community Greening Research Agenda." Community Greening Review. ACGA; Columbus OH

Newly published, the most recent edition of the Community Greening Review is focused on research and features some of the big names in greening scholarship, including Frances Kuo, Rachel Kaplan, Laura Lawson, Bill Sullivan, and others.

Click on the photo to access the PDF at the ACGA website.

Tidball et al., 2009. "The Case for a Community Greening Research Agenda." Community Greening Review, Vol. 13. American Community Gardening Association: Columbus, OH.

Resilience presentation added to Urban Forestry South Expo Library

The presentation I made in Stockholm at the Resilience Conference in 2008 has been added to the Urban Forestry South Expo. Click on the image for more...

CFERP 2009 Poster and Presentation

Poster

C F E R P 09 Presentation

View more presentations from kgtidball.

A New Orleans Tree Trooper Speaks Out

 

Growing safe affordable good food in the City of Buffalo New York

Will Allen, the winner of a 2008 Mc Arthur Foundation “Genius Grant” along with two other Growing Power staffs will lead a training in Buffalo NY on Saturday Sept 5th and Sunday Sept 6th. Growing Power will work with the Community Action Organization (CAO) of Erie County New York which is lead by Executive Director L. Nathan. This partnership will lead the training in building a green house, aquaponics system, compost and vermicompost system. The goal of this infrastructure development and training is to inspire, engage and teach residents how to grow safe, healthy and affordable good food; food grown without the use of chemicals.



“This project will help more people join the Good Food Revolution that’s underway,” said Will Allen, founder and CEO of Growing Power. Buffalo’s Mayor Byron Brown has endorsed this project and will be in attendance over the weekend.


“We need to learn to grow good food closer to where people live. These systems show how we can accomplish this in a very small area using intensive, sustainable practices. ”

–Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power



Growing Power is a national non profit organization and land trust based in Milwaukee with outreach training centers throughout the United States and around the world.




Additional Contact Information:

Community Action Organization | 70 Harvard Place | Buffalo, NY 14209

716-881-5150

NOLA Recovery Update

Congress Introduces Community Garden Bills!

Jay Inslee of Washington just introduced HR 3225: The Community Gardens Act of 2009 "To help provide funds for community gardens, and for other purposes" and Doris Matsui of California introduced a resolution Supporting the goals and ideals of National Community Gardening Awareness Month. I've posted the resolution text below.

Best of all, Inslee's got a total of 18 co-sponsors for his bill, including:
Del. Madeleine Bordallo [D-GU]
Del. Donna Christensen [D-VI]
Del. Eleanor Norton [D-DC]
Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D-OR3]
Rep. André Carson [D-IN7]
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver [D-MO5]
Rep. John Conyers [D-MI14]
Rep. Donna Edwards [D-MD4]
Rep. Eliot Engel [D-NY17]
Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ7]
Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH9]
Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA9]
Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY14]
Rep. Doris Matsui [D-CA5]
Rep. James McGovern [D-MA3]
Rep. Dennis Moore [D-KS3]
Rep. James Moran [D-VA8]
Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D-CA6]

If you see your representative listed here, please thank them! If you don't, drop them a line and tell them you support these two measures and you'd like them to co-sponsor them!

More Defiant Gardens Fort Drum Press

Click on the picture for the story from the Fort Drum newspaper.

The Cornell Chronicle also recently ran a story on Defiant Gardens...you can read it here.

Finally, the Children and Nature Forum newsletter recently featured Defiant Gardens. See below or see a pdf of the Defiant Gardens section of the newsletter here.

Behind the Scenes at the Forum

act, meet and learn about the National Forum on Children and Nature. In this issue: act: American Community Gardening Association - Project Ecopolis meet: Charles O. Holliday, Jr., DuPont learn: The Built Environment Useful Links Sign Up for this Newsletter » Visit the National Forum on Children and Nature online » Visit The Conservation Fund online » We are now on Facebook: The National Forum on Children and Nature act: American Community Gardening Association - Project Ecopolis Gardens are a source of food and flowers - tending them can be soothing and satisfying. This is true for people with yards and for those living in cities, when community gardens are nearby. The goal of Project Ecopolis is to share the benefits of gardening with children who work alongside adult community gardeners to grow vegetables and herbs from around the world. Gardens can also be a place to renew and reintegrate for children, families and soldiers returning from combat. This is why Project Ecopolis began work at Fort Drum, NY, the most heavily deployed unit in the US military, to give members of the military and their families "common ground." Project Ecopolis' Defiant Gardens, in partnership with Cornell University, is a program to plant gardens on military bases and throughout nearby military communities. Starting in July, the Defiant Gardens 4-H program will also send container gardens to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. "Gardens provide a different opportunity than any other support because it's in nature, and it's a less obvious way of bringing people together and forming community," says Jeremiah Maxon, Cornell Cooperative Extension's Defiant Gardens 4-H educator in Jefferson County, NY. "It helps meet needs that military families might not know they have. A military family might not think to join a community garden when a parent deploys, but [doing so] brings them back to nature and to the community." The program launches this summer with eight gardens in deployment-affected communities in NY, while 12 container gardens will be growing in Afghanistan, tended by the 3-71 Cavalry Unit where many members from these communities are deployed. Cornell Professor Marianne Krasny, who led the development of the Garden Mosaics intergenerational urban community gardening program, notes that community gardening is getting a lot of attention these days. "Michele Obama planted a garden on the White House lawn and Secretary Vilsack has called for community gardens outside USDA facilities. Such gardens have the potential not only to help kids eat healthy food and get exercise, but also to help them connect with parents and other adults in their communities. Such community connections - and connections with nature - are critical for kids' healthy development." Support Project Ecopolis >> meet: Charles O. Holliday, Jr., DuPont On January 1, 2009, after ten years as CEO of DuPont, Charles O. Holliday, Jr. retired, retaining his position as Chairman of the Board. During his time as CEO of DuPont, Mr. Holliday helped transform the chemical company to become a leader in the next generation of transformative technologies. He forged the way by embracing the concept of sustainable development, believing that economic growth, social progress, and environmental balance are not mutually exclusive goals. Mr. Holliday's efforts were rewarded in early May when he received the 2009 International Palladium Medal from the American Section of the Société de Chimie Industrielle, a prestigious award that recognizes his efforts to globalize the industry and advance science through the integration of biology and chemistry. When it comes to the environment, Mr. Holliday has seen evidence of climate change and has committed his company to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. He understands that restricting emissions now can help businesses avoid risks in the future, such as the buildup of heat-trapping gases that can eventually cause flooding or droughts. With this in mind, Mr. Holliday led the way to support government action in capping emissions and installing a trading system by which companies that are able to cost-effectively reduce their emissions can sell emission allowances to others that can't. He has built on the firm's long tradition of technology advances and has shown how a for-profit enterprise can prosper in a world wrestling with economic, social, and environmental change. learn: The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children A child's life is affected by the environment in which he or she lives. Relationships between health and the quality of air, water, and food are well recognized. The physical environments of the home and school also influence health through exposures to lead, mold, noise, or ambient light. The overall structure of the physical environment of a child's community (referred to as the "built environment") can also affect health in diverse ways. As cities have expanded into rural areas, large tracts of land have been transformed into low-density developments in a "leapfrog" manner. The resultant urban sprawl can increase automobile travel, which increases air pollution as well as passenger and pedestrian traffic fatalities. Some urban areas may have few supermarkets, produce stands, or community gardens, thereby limiting access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The physical environment of a community can support opportunities for play, an essential component of child development, and for physical activity, a health behavior that not only reduces risk of excess weight gain, but also has many other benefits for overall well-being. Read more of this article at the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

Seneca Wild Harvest Table

A poster I co-authored with my wife Moira Tidball was presented entitled "Exploring Fish and Game as a Component of Local Food Systems: Seneca County CCE’s Wild Harvest Table Project” at the Enhancing Local and Regional Food Systems: Exploring the Research, What Works, and What We Need to Learn workshop, Hudson Valley Resort, Kerhonkson, NY, May 2009.

To see the poster, click on the image.

World Environmental Education Congress 2009 Presentation

This paper was presented at the 5th World Environmental Education Congress 2009 in Montreal, Canada. Click on the image to see the presentation.

"Defiant Gardens" Military Families

The Defiant Gardens Military Families Project has opened the planting season with a bang.

The program was featured on a local news program recently, and yesterday, kicked off the planting season at Fort Drum with a workshop and planting day with project collaborators from The Growing Connection. My photos of this event can be found here.

For background on the project, read the funded proposal here.

Cornell College Of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fights for Urban Well-being

The Spring 2009 issue of CALS News highlights urban research and extension work within Cornell's College Of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including my work.

See the article here.

Million Trees NYC Work Shop a Success

The Million Trees NYC Research Workshop was a resounding success. We had a great turnout of researchers and practitioners, worked hard, and developed a draft research agenda which is to be published very soon. Below is a recap of the conference:

Agenda
Directions to all workshop locations are available at http://tinyurl.com/MTNYClocations
Click on each marker to create custom driving, transit or walking directions from your location.

Tuesday 28 April, 6-8pm
Welcome reception
The Arsenal roof, 830 Fifth Avenue (at East 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, just inside Central Park)
Speakers:
Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, City of New York Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks)
Drew Becher, Executive Director of New York Restoration Project (NYRP)
Michael Rains, Director, US Forest Service Northern Research Station

Wednesday 29 April, 8:30-11:00am (breakfast at 8 am)
Opportunities for Research and Collaboration in the Context of MillionTreesNYC
Gracie Mansion, East End Avenue at 88th Street
Speakers:
Susan Donoghue, Assistant Commissioner for PlaNYC, NYC Parks
Cristiana Fragola and Megan Shane, Directors for MillionTreesNYC, NYC Parks and NYRP
Fiona Watt, Assistant Commissioner for Forestry, Horticulture & Natural Resources, NYC Parks
Morgan Grove, Research Social Scientist, US Forest Service Northern Research Station
Timon McPhearson, Assistant Professor of Ecology, The New School
David Maddox, Chief Scientist, Sound Science

Wednesday 29 April, 11:15-5:30pm
Field visits to MillionTreesNYC planting and research locations
Locations around New York City, transportation and bag lunch provided
Field visits to MillionTreesNYC planting and research locations across a variety of site typologies such as street trees, public housing grounds and natural area reforestation. At each site there will be presentations and discussion by practitioners and researchers concerning current work, challenges to success, and the needs and opportunities for research.

Thursday 30 April, 8:30-5:00pm
Federal Building, 290 Broadway (at Duane St), 30th Floor
Opening Talk: What MillionTreesNYC and the City of New York can offer researchers
Jacqueline Lu, Director of Research & Analysis, Forestry, Horticulture & Natural Resources, NYC Parks
Introduction to the process of the day
David Maddox, Chief Scientist, Sound Science
Small groups to develop thematic research agendas in diverse topics
Facilitated breakout sessions and discussions in small groups, each of which develop a draft research agenda (i.e., research questions) in one of several subject areas. All workshop attendees to participate in two groups of their choice, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Subject areas include:
• Economic impacts
• Labor markets / green jobs
• Ecosystem services: local air quality and urban heat island
• Implications of scale (regional, climate, watersheds, population, etc)
• Green infrastructure and planting site design
• Reforestation dynamics and forest health
• Human health, well-being and quality of life
• Stewardship, civic engagement and social capital
• Ecosystem services: water quality and stormwater management
• Wildlife biodiversity and ecological communities
• Social justice and MillionTreesNYC
• Education and ecological literacy

Friday 1 May 9:00am-1pm
Federal Building, 290 Broadway (at Duane St), 30th Floor
Opening talk: Synthesizing an interdisciplinary research agenda
Keith Tidball, Associate Director of Initiative for Civic Ecology, Cornell University
Keynote: Building science collaborations between cities and researchers: Lessons from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study
Steward T.A. Pickett, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Discussion: Review and Q&A for each of Thursday’s topics
Designated leaders from each Topic Group. Open discussion with emphasis on opportunities for collaboration and cross-disciplinary work.

Million Trees NYC Workshop

Social Learning-Towards a Sustainable World

A year ago, a colleague edited a book entitled Social Learning: Towards a Sustainable World in which Dr. Krasny and I had a chapter. Recently a student wanted a copy of the book and any reviews I was aware of. Having collected the reviews, I thought it would be useful to post them here.


Book review in International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, by J. Dillon 2007.

Book review in The Innovation Journal, by H. Doughty, 2008.

Book review in the Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, by J. Fien, 2007.

Civic Engagement in Achieving Greener Communities

I recently presented "Civic Ecology for Greener Communities," an invited presentation at the Achieving Greener Communities Through Civic, Private, and Government Sector Innovations conference, a one-day conference of the Rural Learning Network of Central and Western New York. Mt. Morris, NY October 2008.


























For my presentation, click Here.

Creating Resilience in Sustainable Communities

To see the presentation I gave, entitled Civic Ecology: Resilience Thinking in Urban Social-Ecological Systems, click here.

For a news story on my presentation entitled Civic Ecology: Resilience Thinking in Urban Social-Ecological Systems, click here.


The Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE) introduced Central Upstate New York to the best "green and clean" practices of urban development, neighborhood revitalization, technological innovation, and environmental stewardship at its 8th Annual Syracuse Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems at the Oncenter, Syracuse, Sept. 29 and 30, 2008.

This year's Symposium theme was "Creating Resilience in Sustainable Communities." The two-day event surveyed the latest ideas and advancements in the fields of resilient human and natural environments (environments able to withstand both natural and human-made changes); sustainable design of homes, neighborhoods, and communities; and clean and green products and services that will benefit this generation and generations to come.

The keynote speaker was Majora Carter, one of the nation's pioneers in successful green-collar job training and placement systems. Carter founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 to achieve environmental justice through economically sustainable projects informed by community needs. She is a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, one of Essence Magazine's "Most Influential African-Americans," one of the New York Post's "Most Influential NYC Women" for the past two years, a board member of the Wilderness Society, and she is recording a special National Public Radio series called "The Promised Land" for 2009 release. Learn more at majoracartergroup.com.

Other notable speakers included:

• Marty Anderies of Arizona State University's Global Institute for Sustainability, recognized as one the most comprehensive and integrated sustainability institutes in the nation;
• Paul Beyer, New York State's Director of Smart Growth, who is helping implement new groundbreaking policies at the state's town, county, and regional levels;
• Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials, who leads his company's mission to reduce energy usage and CO2 generation of the world's largest contributor: our buildings;
• Keith Tidball, a recognized innovator at Cornell University's Civic Ecology Initiative, who will speak about how civic participation plays a role in urban resilience;
• David Doyle of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas, who is helping tornado-stricken Greensburg, Kan. rebuild "green."
• Matt Raimi of Californian firm Raimi+Associates, who will address his work in the Syracuse's Near West Side neighborhood and its status as one of just a few LEED-Neighborhood Development projects in the United States;
• John Spengler of Harvard and Peter Nielsen of Aalborg University, Denmark, two of the world's leading experts in indoor environmental quality research and technology development.