In late November, Manomet staff presented best management practices for improving the climate change resiliency of urban forests and communities to an audience of arborists, urban foresters and municipal employees from across Massachusetts.

 

Manomet’s Ryan Wynne presented Adapting to Climate Change: Using Local Forests to Make Communities More Resilient to Climate Change, at the 16th annual Trees in the Urban Landscape Symposium. The event was held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.

 

“We designed the checklist to help land trusts, forest landowners and local communities take quick action,” said Manomet Sustainable Economies Director Andy Whitman. “Adaptation does not have to be difficult to be effective. Those who practice adaptation will be much better prepared to deal with whatever climate change throws at them and save money in the process.”

 

Some non-native tree species in New England are projected to do better than native species with small increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Existing species, including Eastern Hemlock, Balsam Fir and Red Spruce are predicted to decline in future scenarios due to climate change.

 

Manomet has been working with local communities in Sagadahoc County, Maine, to develop and evaluate strategies for using urban forests to adapt to climate change. The Best Management Practices Checklist for Weather-Wise Forestry for Urban Forests was developed as part of Manomet’s Sagadahoc County Urban and Community Forest Project.

 

– Manomet staff