In this activity college students go outside and find ten street trees near their home or school, photograph them, identify them to species, and map them on a Google Map.  It was made for New York City (NY, USA), but can be modified for any area and used also at lower levels. Included below is also a small field guide to street trees in Northeastern USA for the students to use.

Additional questions related to ecosystem services and economic value that the students answer based on their ten trees include:

  • Calculate the annual value of the tree’s economic benefits.
  • What are cumulative annual benefits for your sample of 10 trees?
  • Look up the maximum life span of each tree species.
  • Can you make a very rough estimate of the total economic value of your sample of 10 trees?

This activity is developed and shared by Amy Berkov from the City College of New York.  Thanks for sharing this, Amy!

Download the files here:

Street Trees Photolog Worksheet by Amy Berkov (273 downloads)

 

Quick Guide to New York City Street Trees by Amy Berkov (187 downloads)