Archived 2022 News

July 2022- BUFRG researcher awarded Fellowship at the Ostrom Workshop

Stephanie Freeman-Day has received a Fellowship from the Ostrom Workshop for the academic year 2022-2023. With the Workshop’s support, Freeman-Day will continue her research on sustainability and perseverance of urban forested patches. She specifically wants to learn more about governance practices that may be connected with a forested patch continuing as a community resource over time, particularly in the challenging biophysical and anthropogenic atmospheres typical in urban settings. Her research on urban forested patches began with a pilot project on IU Bloomington’s Campus. Past support of the Workshop has allowed the work to include the city of Bloomington. Now, her work will expand further to the more complex and urbanized environment of Indianapolis.

June 2022- Results from City of Bloomington Municipal Bond Pre-Planting Tree Survey

In early Spring, BUFRG researchers Stephanie Freeman-Day and Burney Fischer partnered with the Bloomington’s Urban Forestry Program to assess residents’ views on trees and urban forest management. Surveys were administered by mail ahead of a large-scale planting that began in Bloomington neighborhoods in April. Below is a general overview of the results.

Trees in Bloomington are a topic of interest to many residents, as evidenced by a relatively high response rate to the survey.
In three of the four planting areas, a majority of respondents felt like their neighborhood could use more trees. In the remaining neighborhood, more residents in that area felt neutral about the addition of trees to their area.
Residents also see the need for the completion of alternative projects, especially street repair and flood mitigation.
People generally agreed with statements describing ecosystem services, or benefits, of trees. They were most likely to agree to statements related to environmental sustainability, followed by economic sustainability, and then by social/human health sustainability.
There is less awareness of Bloomington’s urban forestry program or the job of an arborist. Respondents knew the least about the location of the public right-of-way.

May 2022- New BUFRG Publication

Freeman-Day and Fischer’s recent paper, Indiana University’s Woodland Campus: A case study of urban forest patch sustainability was published in the March 2022 Special Issue of Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. This paper discusses the BUFRG investigation of green spaces on the IUB campus and their changes over time (see condensed abstract below). Our investigation into forested patches in urban areas has expanded to current research within the City of Bloomington, with the next phase being an expansion to Indianapolis.

Condensed abstract

Urban green spaces are increasingly seen as vital resources contributing to ecological and social health. This case study investigates forested and natural patches on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. Data gathered through university archives includes historical maps and campus plans, for a study period beginning in 1884 with the university’s relocation to its current area. Historic aerial photos were compared with present satellite imagery using GIS. Findings include patterns where patches were indicated on maps, followed by a period where natural/forested areas were unindicated on maps followed by patches reappearing on maps and being suggested for preservation, with most patch loss as seen in the aerial imagery occurring when the patches were left unlabeled on maps.

April 2022- BUFRG researcher Stephanie Freeman-Day to present at Ostrom Workshop Research Series

Freeman-Day will be presenting the BUFRG team's ongoing project on Bloomington urban forested patches at 12:00 on April 20, 2022. The talk will be given live at the workshop as well as on Zoom and will be recorded for later viewing. Details, including a draft paper, are available on the Workshop Research Series page. A brief abstact is included below.

March 2022- Two BUFRG researchers present at Indiana Academy of Science meeting

Gretchen Luchauer and Stephanie Freeman-Day each gave presentations at this year’s Indiana Academy of Science (IAS) annual meeting on March 26. Freeman-Day’s talk was titled Urban forested patches in Bloomington, Indiana- Analyzing sustainability over time. This presentation was an update on the ongoing BUFRG project and included preliminary results. Luchauer’s presentation built on Freeman-Day’s topic and was titled Urban stream corridors and forest patches- The connections: A case study of Bloomington, Indiana. She has been researching this topic with a goal of eventual publication of her findings. Abstracts for each presentation can be found on these links- Freeman-Day, Luchauer.

February 2022- Canopy Bloomington and Bloomington’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Department reach out to residents about BUFRG project

Work has been progressing on the urban forest patch project, where we are beginning a phase seeking knowledge from local residents about current and former patches within the city. This month, two local groups featured the patch project in their newsletters, Canopy Bloomington a local urban forestry nonprofit, and the City of Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development Department (HAND). Canopy Bloomington’s newsletter can be viewed here, and Bloomington’s HAND newsletter can be viewed here. We are looking forward to hearing from people with knowledge and insight on forested patches in Bloomington.

January 2022-Bloomington Urban Forest Patches – A study of perseverance and sustainability – Seeking input

The Bloomington Urban Forestry Research Group (BUFRG) at Indiana University-Bloomington is studying/exploring the perseverance and sustainability of urban forest patches (UFP’s) in the City of Bloomington. We have created a database of these UFP’s starting in 1939 and we are tracking their survival (perseverance) to the present as well as identifying new patches that have developed. Sustainability of patches relates to both ecological condition and governance impacts. We define an UFP as being at least one acre in size, at least 120’ wide and having a rather complete tree canopy. We are exploring the following characteristic of UFP’s, a) the current ecological condition, b) ownership and how it’s changed over time, and c) formal or informal community or neighborhood or individuals that have ‘protected’ the patch over time as well as pondering several other ways to characterize institutional impacts (rules).

We are interested in interviewing individuals or groups that have concerns or involvement in the past or currently for an urban forest patch within the current City of Bloomington boundary. Individuals or groups that have actually cared for, managed or protected an urban forest patch are of particular interest. Contact Professor Burney Fischer (bufische@iu.edu) or PhD Student Stephanie Freeman-Day (stjfreem@iu.edu).

Archived 2022 News

Bloomington Urban Forestry Research Group resources