» People, Cities, and Forests
Green Cities
Research Alliance
Photo by Guy Cramer
More than 80 percent of the Pacific Northwest region’s
population lives in urbanized areas. The Green
Cities Research Alliance, based in Washington state’s
Puget Sound area, is focusing on the social and environmental
situations where people live, learn, work, and play. The alliance
has several research
and assessment projects in progress. The knowledge gained
from these studies will be used to create sustainable urban areas
and more livable cities. The Green Cities Research Alliance partners
include the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station; University
of Washington; Forterra; Institute
for Culture and Ecology; and King
County Parks and Recreation.
Contact: Dale Blahna, dblahna@fs.fed.us.
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Forests Inside Out!
Photo by Becky Bittner
Forests
Inside Out! is a conservation education program for children
from underserved and diverse communities in the greater Portland,
Oregon, metropolitan area. The program promotes active, healthy,
lifestyles through activities in local parks, natural areas,
and national forests. Forests Inside Out! has served about
400 children, ages 6 to 10, for 2-day experiences exploring
and learning about nature. Eight area high school and college
age students were hired as mentors for the program. Forests
Inside Out! is a partnership between the Forest Service and World
Forestry Center.
Contact: Becky Bittner, bbittner@fs.fed.us.
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Inner City Youth
Institute
Photo by Becky Bittner
The Inner
City Youth Institute (ICYI) encourages underrepresented
youth to pursue higher education and careers in the natural
resource and environmental fields. The institute hosts
summer programs for students from high schools in Portland,
Oregon, and southwest Washington. Youth in last summer’s
program stayed in dorms at Oregon State University (OSU) and
took field trips to the Forest Service’s H.J. Andrews
Experimental Forest, the Hatfield Marine Science Center at
the Oregon coast, and more. About 200 youth have participated
in the program. The ICYI is a partnership among the Forest
Service, OSU, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Contact: Becky Bittner, bbittner@fs.fed.us.
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Urban
Forests and Housing Costs
Photo by Guy Cramer
Urban trees may influence how much people are willing to pay
for rental housing in Portland, Oregon. Understanding how people
respond to environmental characteristics can be good for business.
Research conducted by the Pacific Northwest Research Station
and the National Institute of Standards and Technology shows
that Portland houses with trees command higher rents. A tree
in the yard increased monthly rent by over $5.00. A tree in the
public right-of-way increased rent by $21 a month. These findings
are consistent with a previous study in Portland showing that
a street tree adds $7,130 to the sales price of a house.
Contact: Geof Donovan, gdonovan@fs.fed.us.
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Featured Professional
 Becky
Bittner is a technology transfer specialist and conservation
education specialist for the Pacific Northwest Research Station.
She has coordinated conservation education activities for the station
since 1999, helping to serve more than 1,000 children over the years.
She connects station scientists with the local communities through
programs like the Inner City Youth Institute and Forests Inside Out!
“I enjoy teaching kids about conservation education because I know many
of them will be making decisions in the future that will impact their natural
environment and I want them to be informed,”explains Bittner. After
completing a graduate degree in forestry management at Oregon State University,
she held a variety of positions in the Forest Service, including planner, economist,
and recreation officer, for the Pacific Northwest, Southwestern, and Pacific
Southwest Regions before joining the station.
Tools and Software
i-Tree
 U.S.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell recently announced the release of
new mobile software that helps urban planners, homeowners and students
quantify the value of their urban forests.
Earlier versions of the award-winning i-Tree
software suite made forest management easy and accessible for millions
of Americans. Now, with i-Tree version 5.0, the Forest Service and
its partners have increased not only the suite of tools available,
but the range of devices that can use it, including smartphones and
tablets. The software is completely free for download.
i-Tree allows users to easily and accurately find the dollar value
of the benefits provided by urban forests, including energy cost savings,
storm-water capture and city pollution absorption.
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