Right tree, right place, right reason: developing a sustainable urban forest

The urban forest is integral to the lives of people providing critical environmental and socio-cultural benefits. Trees within the urban environment exist across a patchwork of green and greyspaces managed at scales from individual gardens, street trees up to woodlands. All individuals, communities, private sector, third sector organisations and public bodies who interact with the trees that make up the urban forest are its stakeholders. Thus, management by, or for, any stakeholder is challenging when there are competing goals and drivers for management decisions. Knowledge exchange (KE) between these multiple stakeholders is crucial to explore the challenges to and opportunities for sustainable maintenance and enhancement of the urban forest.

This fellowship will facilitate KE between the stakeholders in the urban forest to provide a pathway to better understand the challenges faced by managers, share best practice, and identify the most pressing knowledge gaps that need addressing to enable sustainable urban forest management. Key urban forest stakeholders have committed to take part in the KE proposed in this fellowship from the public sector, the third sector, the community, research organisations, and academia (see letters of support).

This fellowship is organised into four work packages (WP) and is designed to deliver crucial KE and impact on the challenges and opportunities to maintenance or enhancement of a sustainable urban forest for current and future urban communities.

In WP1 I will conduct a rapid review of the challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban forest management. This will inform a Knowledge Discover Day held with stakeholders to discuss and develop the key challenges and opportunities they are experiencing in sustainable urban forest management. The aim of these discussions will be to coalesce around four themes that will be the focus of four thematic workshops held during the fellowship (e.g. climate resilience of urban tree species). The subsequent thematic workshops will focus on each specific topic, identifying best practice, sharing knowledge discussing challenges and identifying knowledge-gaps. After each workshop stakeholders will co-design a pilot research project with relevant academics to address one of these key knowledge gaps (pilot projects funded by University of Sheffield - see letter of support).

In WP2 I will partner with Sheffield City Council to design and run a citizen science project with the aim of understanding the potential for local seed harvest and direct planting as a tool for sustainable woodland creation. It will also engage the local community with the urban forest. The citizen scientists will also participate in monitoring of the planted seeds.

In WP3 I will use an online participatory mapping approach to enable local communities in to map out preferences for where urban trees should be planted and what tree species. The tree species selection will be identified with stakeholders during the Knowledge Discovery Day (WP1). This will be used to inform Sheffield City Councils woodland creation and Street Tree Strategies.

In WP4 I will co-develop open access resources with relevant stakeholders to inform and share knowledge with the wider stakeholders in the urban forest. The final format of each resource will be determined with the stakeholders during the KE fellowship, for example, written how to guides, video resources, planting guidance. I will host a feedback and horizon scanning event with the stakeholders to assess the impact of the fellowship and to horizon scan the future challenges to a sustainable urban forest.

The provision of a sustainable urban forest is critical to a healthy and resilient urban environment. The KE planned in this fellowship, with the multiple stakeholders assembled, will deliver societal and environmental benefit during the fellowship.