4 weeks ago
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A group of citizen scientists in San Diego has volunteered to be trained on how to monitor the health of trees in urban areas under a national pilot program.
On Wednesday, 50 volunteers will gather in Balboa Park and meet with some of the San Diego Zoo’s plant experts, including arborists, to learn how to assess the health of trees.
The training is part of a program called Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities, which enlists volunteers to track tree health in their communities. Using cellphones and a special app, the volunteers will be asked to document trees they come across — reports that could potentially serve as an early warning for trees that appear stressed. The program is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service along with other groups, including The Nature Conservancy.
The zoo’s involvement is through an American Public Gardens Association pilot that seeks to use public gardens as education and citizen science hubs for the app, a spokesperson said. Under the pilot, workshops have also taken place at the Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado and at The Arboretum at Flagstaff in Arizona.
English (US) ·