Undergraduate Community Scholarship

Project Proposer:Miranda Clarke
Organisation name:City of Trees
Community Project title:All Our Trees
Project Summary:
From ancient woodlands to urban trees Greater Manchester is incredibly diverse with the landscape intrinsically linked to our rich industrial heritage. Currently however we don’t know how many trees we have, where they are, what state they are in, and the value of the benefits they provide at a Greater Manchester level. We also need to unlock opportunities to plant more trees to make Greater Manchester greener and healthier.
All Our Trees is pioneering evidence based project that will help us protect, preserve and manage the trees and woods we have as well as well as identifying opportunities to plant more.
The evidenced generated will form the basis for the Greater Manchester Tree and Woodland Strategy meaning that all work completed through the project will have significant positive outcomes for Greater Manchester neighbourhoods and future generations.
City of Trees is pleased to offer the opportunity to join our team in developing and delivering this exciting project alongside local communities.
What does All Our Trees involve?
All Our Trees will use an innovative technological approach to quantify trees and woodland resource, establishing a financial value based on factors such as flood management, amenity, carbon capture and air pollution values.
City of Trees is working with partners to develop a comprehensive model of the function and structure of Greater Manchester’s urban forest using the USDA Forest Service’s suite of i-Tree tools. i-Tree Eco uses tree measurements and other data to estimate the characteristics of the urban forest. When data is available across the whole of Greater Manchester a reliable estimate of the nature and value of whole urban forest canopy can be made.
This information can then be used and shared by local authorities, communities, the Third Sector, politicians and other stakeholders across the region to ensure the survival and improvement of our tree resource which is essential to the health and wellbeing of all communities and wildlife.
What will the Scholar do?
Surveying in the field - we need to generate the data needed by i-Tree Eco to create a model of the Greater Manchester urban forest and the majority of your time will be spent surveying. Small teams will visit randomly located plots across all of Greater Manchester, gathering data such as type of tree, numbers measurements and general tree health (full training provided on all aspects)
Inputting data – data inputting into the i-Tree Eco software that will be used to create an emerging picture of GM’s tree resources
Developing and evaluating the All Our Trees approach – you will have a key role in evaluating this model of working and helping us to improve and refine it. Safeguarding urban trees is essential to global wellbeing and you will have an essential role in developing a model that can be used in many other circumstances
Working with communities and spreading the word – all of our work involves working with people, neighbourhoods and stakeholders, especially when we are out and about surveying sites. This provides a great opportunity to talk to people about why their local green area and trees are important to them and let them know about the work we do and how they can help
Explore the different areas of our work – at City of Trees we are involved in a range of projects and programmes including working with communities and schools to improve their local greenspace all the way through to working with key organisations and politicians to safeguard and conserve landscapes. You can find out and try out these different areas depending on your interest
Skills required by the Scholarship holder:
•Interest in trees and woodlands
•Good communication skills
•Ability to interpret maps or an interest in learning
•Good communication skills and report writing
•Interest in working in a small team
•Communicate effectively with members of the public and staff team
•Represent the project with confidence and professionalism
•Own transport desirable or ability to get to different sites using public transport / bike
Full training will be provided specifically on survey methods and how to identify trees and generate and record the information needed.
We are a team made up of paid staff, volunteers and internships and you will never be working alone, with all the support you may need available
How will your project benefit the Scholarship holder and your organisation?
Benefits to scholarship holder
  • A practical project that will take the post holder to a variety of both interesting and beautiful sites across Greater Manchester which may be of particular interest to anyone new to the area
  • The chance to refine existing skills or learn new skills regarding tree identification, surveying and map skills
  • Contributing to a project that will safeguard important resources for the health and wellbeing of both local people and wildlife – with conserved and protected woodland helping to improve air pollution, store carbon, protect areas from flooding as well as providing green areas for leisure activities
  • An introduction to working in a third sector organisation within a small team and gaining team working and communication skills. This will include meeting and working with paid staff and volunteers as well as local communities around sites.
  • Working on a project that has a high level profile with support from a range of environmental agencies and key Greater Manchester politicians – from The Woodland Trust through to Andy Burnham GM Mayor
  • Working on a project that will have both local positive impacts in terms of conserving and protecting urban trees and will also be used for key local and national policy such as the Northern Forest initiative
Benefits to City of Trees and the project
  • The chance to work with a motivated individual to complete a large scale project
  • A valuable opportunity to get insight, feedback and ideas from a new team member
  • An additional human resource to help complete a project within a tight timescale
  • A fresh perspective on the project that will help us to evaluate and improve what we do
  • Meeting our Learning Policy objectives of supporting people to learn about environmental issues and supporting the development of work related skills
  • Potential further opportunities to work with Manchester Met colleagues and students as a result of working together on this project

Faculty of Arts and Humanities