We will launch our 2017 Calendar of Events with the next session of our ongoing Citizen Science Project, Tree Mapping in Glen Providence Park! Volunteers have been cataloging and digitally mapping the park’s trees since 2011, contributing to a worldwide database. We document the species, diameter, location, and other data for individual trees in the park.

The data is entered on PhillyTreeMap, a subsection of the worldwide OpenTreeMap, a web-based map database of trees. As of January 2016, we have identified 54 species of trees in the park. You can see the latest map showing Glen Providence Park on PhillyTreeMap.

No experience necessary! Our plant gurus Marcia Tate and Shannon Davidson will guide us – come out to learn about tree identification and the many benefits that trees provide to our community and the environment.

Citizen Science: Winter Tree Mapping

Saturday, January 28
2:00-4:00 pm
Rain/snow date Sunday, January 29, 2:00-4:00 pm
* Park entrance at 3rd Street & Kirk Lane in Upper Providence *

Logistics:

• * Please note the location- we are starting at the Upper Providence entrance at Third Street and Kirk Lane. *
• Estimated time: 2 hours
• Free!
• If you have a smartphone, it would be helpful to download the OpenTreeMap app – it’s the easiest way to add trees to the database. We’ve found that the app burns through phone batteries quickly – so if you have one, an external phone battery would be a great idea.
• Be prepared for steep hills, and uneven (possibly wet) terrain: wear your hiking shoes, and bring a hiking pole if you use one.
• Bring binoculars, tree ID guides, & measuring tape if you have your own, but not necessary.
• If the weather is questionable on Saturday morning, we will post on our website and Facebook by 12:00 noon whether we will use the Sunday rain date. 

Tree mapping

Join us for a tree walk in Glen Providence Park, in the 80th anniversary year for this Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum! We will be led by Dr. David Hewitt, who led our first tree walk in January 2012. He is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, a research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences, and works on developing education and outreach programs on agriculture and the environment, “and other sciencey things.”

Tree Walk with David Hewitt

Sunday, June 7
1:00-3:00 pm
Main entrance, State Street, Media
Rain or shine

We’ll walk part of the trail from the 1941 Nature Guide and compare the park’s current trees to those described in the guide, including a “nature oddity” that is still there! We may also have tree i.d. questions for David from our 2015 citizen science project, tree mapping! 

Logistics:

• Estimated distance: 1.5 miles
• Estimated time: 2 hours
• Free!
• Be prepared for stream crossings, steep hills, and uneven, possibly muddy terrain: wear sturdy walking shoes, and bring a hiking pole if you use one.
• Bring a tree book if you’d like, and you never know when you’ll want binoculars!
• If the weather is truly inclement, we will post on facebook and our website by 11:00 am whether we will cancel.

Today, we began our 2015 citizen science project, Tree Mapping! After some logistical planning and test runs, seven volunteers started the yearlong project of cataloging and digitally mapping the trees of Glen Providence Park, using PhillyTreeMap, a subsection of the worldwide OpenTreeMap. Thus we are contributing to a worldwide database of trees.

Keys to tree mapping — tree ID guides, smart phones, and measuring tape.

Open Tree Map

There are many great aspects of OpenTreeMap, one of which is that it’s now available on smartphones, which enabled us to more quickly enter the tree data. You can see the progress we’ve made by visiting this here PhillyTreeMap page. By entering not only the species but the tree circumference, we can track how much carbon each tree is sequestering, how much stormwater is filtered, and several other ecological benefits of trees.

Discoveries

Today we mapped nearly 20 trees, including some absolutely huge Osage Orange trees (Maclura pomifera) along the sledding hill and a Black Oak (Quercus nigra) with a 40-inch diameter! We bagged three new species for our Tree List, Acer negudo, commonly knows as the Box Elder or Ash-Maple tree, Pinus resinosa, Red Pine and Quercus nigra or Black Oak.

Dan and Marcia marvel at this huge split Osage Orange!

Thank you!

Thanks to all of our volunteers today, and if you’d like to join us on our next excursion (no experience necessary!), please email us at contactATglenprovidencepark.org.