Branching Out: New Routes to Valuing Urban Treescapes

Lead Research Organisation: Loughborough University
Department Name: Creative Arts

Abstract

Addressing theme 1 and to a lesser extent theme 2.
A climate emergency has been declared by 74% of UK local authorities. As they respond to this via increased tree planting targets for carbon sequestration, it is imperative that they also realise the multiple public benefits - health and wellbeing, green infrastructure, social amenity, the green economy - that treescapes can provide. Local authorities need a vision of future societal needs and the forms of future treescapes that might meet them; we will deliver the evidence and decision making processes to realise such a vision.
Most studies on the biophysical and amenity aspects of urban treescapes neglect wider social and cultural values that cannot easily be quantified. Consequently, the symbolic, heritage, spiritual and social and cultural (S&C) values of treescapes are not meaningfully accounted for. This problem is becoming increasingly acute, as protests arise around individual trees (Sheffield street trees) or woods (proposed sale of the public forest estate), exacerbated by pressure from business and housing development. 'Branching Out' will evaluate the S&C values of urban trees across three cities, and develop new ways of mapping, predicting and communicating those values to support robust, evidence-based decision making and management.
The three selected focus cities purposefully have different planning histories, supporting subsequent widespread adoption of our novel approach. York (historical) and Cardiff (post-industrial) are county towns, while Milton Keynes is a post-1960s new town. Each city has particular, yet not uncommon, challenges relating to their treescapes, has declared a climate emergency, and expects trees to play a role in mitigation and adaptation. Our central tenet comprises three broad approaches: 1) co-production, using deliberative methods with citizens and stakeholders, to develop a holistic value framework; 2) storytelling, creating narrative accounts of meaning and value of the past, present and future; 3) mapping, to link biophysical features and S&C values. Our approach will map both values that are generalisable and those that are particular and highly situated.
Our mapping approaches encompass the past, present and future, using historical sources to map the impact of past values on current treescape form and function. We will use our established tree citizen science platform, Treezilla, to collect biophysical data from new Urban Tree Observatories. Remote sensing will characterise tree condition and canopy properties, and scale the biophysical data across the focal cities. This project will address local authorities' need for high-resolution mapping of tree characteristics, resulting in Europe's largest, most robust urban tree dataset, accompanied by descriptors of S&C value that can be used to recreate such datasets across other urban areas using freely available satellite data. The tools we co-create will provide local authorities with useable evidence for decision making to predict the impacts of developments or changes on S&C value, and enable them to calculate more accurately the impacts of changes on ecosystem services. Such multidimensional mapping can reveal inequalities in current and future provision of benefits as treescapes change through time, providing a better understanding of how and where those inequalities can be addressed.
A series of design workshops will experiment with ways of mapping S&C values in relation to the remote-sensed biophysical characteristics of our urban treescapes, producing techniques and tools for sensing and mapping values. Using these tools as provocations, we will speculate on possible futures for our urban treescapes, built around an appreciation and understanding of S&C values. Through these methods this project will embed S&C values in planning and decision-making for urban trees at local and national scales, thereby meeting society's and planning needs now and in the future.

Publications

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Kenter J (2023) Nature Positive: A Multiple Values Approach in Wood Wise: Nature Positive Economy

 
Title Stories of the Past Storytelling Performances 
Description A series of performances by Patrick Ryan, as part of Branching Out. The performances took place in community settings in York, Cardiff and Milton Keynes during Summer 2022 and were based on the stories collected from the project's review of a corpus of folk tales involving trees, orchards, woodland and forests. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact The impacts were in the positive feedback by audience members and by the interest shown by audience members in participating in Digital Storytelling workshops as part of the next stage of the project 
 
Title Stories of the Past video 
Description A video recording of Patrick Ryan performing Stories of the Past, as part of the Branching Out project. Using stories collected through the review of tree-related folktales, Patrick performed to community audiences in Cardiff, Milton Keynes and York during Summer 2022. The film was shot in Milton Keynes. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact Feedback is mainly through positive feedback from audiences and an expressed interest in participating in the next stage of Digital Storytelling workshops as part of Branching Out. 
 
Description Whilst it is too early to start identifying specific impacts from the project, which will become evident once the values framework is complete, there is growing evidence of an increased interest in the application of storytelling for public engagement and the harnessing of lay knowledge in relation to wider issues of environmental sustainability, related to Branching Out and other environment-related projects in this portfolio. Collectively these projects are starting to create a substantial body of work and critical mass, which is gaining international traction. This is evidenced, for example, by Professor Wilson's invitations to speak at a panel on storytelling at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in October 2023, to speak at the Kolkota International Book Fair and the Global Science Fair Kerala in January 2024, to join Swedish colleagues on the MISTRA programme for environmental and sustainability education in March 2024, and to apply for a UNESCO Chair in Storytelling for Sustainability in March 2024. If successful this latter initiative will lead to a programme of further impactful initiatives with multiple diverse international partners.
First Year Of Impact 2023
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

 
Description Artist-in-Residence
Amount £8,000 (GBP)
Organisation Community Action MK 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2023 
End 06/2023
 
Description Trends in Urban Tree Canopy Cover Change
Amount £20,000 (GBP)
Organisation Woodland Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
End 01/2023
 
Description 'Branching Out' for York Environmental sustainability Institute to introduce the project to environmental researchers across the University. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact A talk given by Dr Alsion Dyke to environmental researchers and other interested partners to introduce Branching Out.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description 'Branching Out: new routes to valuing urban treescape: unlocking values through storytelling', Talk for Tree Design Action Group at Future Build 2022, ExCel London. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Branching Out was invited to be part of the TDAG Pavillion at Future Build 2022. This included a poster presentation and public talks on the project. Professor Wilson. gave a talk outlining the storytelling aspects of the project. The audience consisted of a range of policymakers and industry members from sustainable urban design and architecture. The talk was well received and generated a number of questions and consequent discussion. This talk was followed by another talk by Kieron Doick from Forest Research on the biophysical aspects of the project. Whilst the 'live' audience was modest, there is an intention to make a recording of the talk so that it can be placed upon the TDAG/Future Build websites.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description 'Can bio based solutions save us' cross University talk in conjunction with COP 26 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Around 75 people from across York University and partners attended the talk by Dr Alison Dyke in conjunction with COP.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description 'Trees to live from, with, in, and as: relationships of care and well-being',.Presentation at Tree Cultures Symposium at the Linnean Society of London, 29th February 2024, delivered by Alma Solarte-Tobon (RA, Loughborough)) and Alison Dyke (Co-I York). 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This talk was part of a whole day symposium at the Linnean Society of London, presented by Alma Solarte-Tobon, RA at Loughborough, with Alison Dyke, Co-I at York. There were approximately 75 attendees and he presentation generated questions and discussion.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Branching Out Stories of the Future workshops 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact As part of the Stories of the Future work package, a number of workshops were conducted across our three focal cities (Cardiff, York and Milton Keynes) with family and community participants. The aim of the workshops was to use storytelling to engage communities in imagining their future treescapes. A total of 138 participants attended the workshops.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
 
Description Branching Out Stories of the Past Performances 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact As part of the Stories of the Past work package, Patrick Ryan, a professional storyteller, was commissioned to create a performance drawn from the collection of folktales that had been collected. These shows were performed to family audiences in our 3 focal cities (Cardiff, York and Milton Keynes) in libraries, parks and other community venues. Audiences totalled 204.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Branching Out Stories of the Present workshops 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact As part of the Stories of the Present work package, a number of workshops were conducted in collaboration with community organisations in our three focal cities (Cardiff, York and Milton Keynes). The aim of these was to collect, in multiple formats, the stories of people's own engagements with trees. A total of 108 people attended these workshops.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023
 
Description Branching Out: New Routes to Valuing Urban Treescapes: understanding the social and cultural values of urban treescapes - a talk for Tree Design Action Group at FutureBuild 2022, Excel London 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Branching Out was invited to be part of the TDAG Pavillion at Future Build 2022. This included a poster presentation and public talks on the project. Kieron Doick from Forest Research gave a talk outlining the biophysical aspects of the project. The audience consisted of a range of policymakers and industry members from sustainable urban design and architecture. The talk was well received and generated a number of questions and consequent discussion. This talk was preceded by another talk by Professor Wilson on the storytelling aspects of the project. Whilst the 'live' audience was modest, there is an intention to make a recording of the talk so that it can be placed upon the TDAG/Future Build websites.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Digital Storytelling and Slow Storytelling 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This was a GREAT talk hosted by the British Council in India. I gave it to a public audience at the UK Pavillion at the International Kolkota Book Fair and also to a student/staff audience at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkota.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Panel presentation at meeting of International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This was part of a panel for the Future of UK Treescapes programme, with a particular emphasis on arts, humanities and social sciences approaches to natural resource management.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description RADAR and MK Gallery Artist-in-Residence 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact RADAR is a project run by LU Arts to link artists with academic research by Loughborough academics, often by attaching an artist-in-residence to work with a project. Professor Wilson was approached by Laura Purseglove from RADAR with a view to exploring the potential of attaching an artist-in-residence to Branching Out and as a result RADAR met with Milton Keynes Gallery (MK being one of the research sites for Branching Out), who are keen to be involved. This has led to an application to Arts Council England for funding for an artist-in-residence during 2023. At present the discussions have been between Branching Out, RADAR and MK Gallery, but if the bid is successful it will lead to much wider public engagement across the MK community and beyond.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Talking About the Weather and Other Stories: Storytelling As Creative Thinking About Climate Change 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This was a GREAT talk hosted by the British Council in India. I gave it to public audiences at the UK Pavillion at the International Kolkata Book Fair and at the Global Science Fair Kerala in Trivandrum. Also gave the talk to two large groups of students at the Modern High School for Girls in Kolkata and the Government College for Women in Trivandrum. There were many questions after the talks and there are plans for further workshop activity with the British Council for next year.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description The Power of Storytelling for Voicing Arctic Issues to the Public 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Invited member of a panel at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in November 2023. The panel was titled 'Hearing the Arctic's Call: The Time to Act as One' and consisted of an international group of scholars from Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands and the UK. The Arctic Circle Assembly is a major annual intergovernmental congress with a global audience of policymakers, academics, activist organisations and NGOs. There was a wide interest in storytelling at the Assembly and the talk resulted in lots of questions and post-panel discussions and new contacts. It is likely that a follow-up panel will convene at the 2024 Assembly.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Urban Trees Do More Than Capture Carbon 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blogpost by Dr Alison Dyke in conjunction with COP and hosted on the University of York COP web pages.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.york.ac.uk/yesi/cop26/blog/urban-trees-do-more-than-capture-carbon/
 
Description Value of Trees Project, Leicestershire County Council 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Professor Wilson was contacted in late 2021 by Mr Andy Jackson, the project manager at Leicestershire County Council for the Value of Trees project, which is examining the economic, biophysical and social value of roadside urban trees. Thew purpose of the discussion was to explore synergies between the projects and as a result Professor Wilson has been invited on the project advisory panel, which met in February 2022.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.reesjeffreys.co.uk/research-news/value-of-trees-project-gets-underway/