Mapping Social & Cultural Values of Trees with Citizen Science

Urban trees are widely recognised to be valuable parts of our towns and cities. However, the way they have been valued has focused on their physical characteristics, such as carbon storage and pollution and flood reduction. But the things that people value about urban trees are much more diverse than this. This webinar explains how we can record social and cultural values of trees using the citizen science platform Treezilla.org, a website and app that allow users to map and measure trees. Mapping urban trees allows us to understand the nature of our urban forests and is also a good way to engage local people in learning more about the trees around them. As part of the Branching Out project, we have worked with communities across three cities, to develop an understanding of the ways you can record these values and embedded this into Treezilla which is a widely used urban tree mapping tool. We also talk about how to use the platform and some of the other updates and improvements to Treezilla that can support communities across the UK to map and monitor their urban trees. More than 1 million records of over 400 species, cultivars and varieties of trees have been recorded so far from across the UK.<br></br><br></br> <b>Contributors:</b><br></br> Dr Phil Wheeler is Senior Lecturer in Ecology at the Open University (OU). He leads the Treezilla project alongside a range of urban tree research at the OU. Treezilla is the largest open and participatory tree map in the UK: anyone can use the app for free, add and update tree records and learn more about their values. Janice Ansine is Senior Project Manager Citizen Science at the OU. She manages a range of public-facing projects (including Treezilla) and initiatives and practices accessible environmental science research using online technology to engage and support learning. Holly Woo is a PhD Researcher at the OU studying urban ancient woodlands and has been assisting with research, public engagement and output development for Branching Out and Treezilla. <br></br><br></br> <b>About:</b><br></br> Treezilla (https://treezilla.org): an Open University (OU) citizen science project that is aiming to encourage members of the public, local authorities, business, local groups and other organisations to collaborate in mapping, measuring and monitoring trees across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The OU’s mission is to make learning accessible to all, and the development and use of new and emerging technologies, with citizen science, such as Treezilla.org, in its teaching and research contributes to this.<br></br><br></br> Branching Out (https://www.valueoftrees.co.uk) The OU is a project partner in Branching Out, which is funded by UKRI under the Future of Treescapes programme. Branching Out recognises the many benefits that trees can provide, such as health, wellbeing, green infrastructure, and social amenity. The project is exploring and developing new ways of mapping, predicting, and communicating social and cultural values to support robust, evidence-based decision making and management.<br></br><br></br> <b>About the The Urban Tree Festival 2025</b><br></br> The Urban Tree Festival is an annual community celebration of trees, including their benefits, beauty, majesty, and magic, in cities, towns and all urban environments. Events, celebrations, walks, talks and storytelling are held across London and the UK, bringing all our communities together to educate, inspire and share their enjoyment of trees.