EFUF 2016 Spotlight: Interview With Pieter Wieringa

In our new blog post we present Pieter Wieringa, the winner of the #EFUF2016 blog competition! In this short interview you can find out all about the background of his winning blog, his visit to EFUF 2016 and what he has been up to lately.

First of all Pieter, congratulations on your excellent blog. Was it a new research you have done for the blog or have you published it before?

The research was done in the framework of writing a new masterplan for the city of Ploiesti. Romanian cities are obligated to renew their masterplan every 10 years. In the first phase of the masterplan I visited every area of the city in search of green resources. I really wanted to have a proper picture of urban greenspaces irrespective of ownership, functionality, accessibility and quality. After identifying and mapping these green resources we realized the city has vast green resources, especially near railway infrastructure and brownfields. So in the first phase we recommended the city council to look for solutions on how to incorporate and harvest this green change. The blog was in fact a condensed version of our background study in Ploiesti. So far the city council has not published our recommendations on their site or anywhere else.

We hope your work is recognized by the city authorities for the good of the city. We are curious – has your life has changed in any way due to publishing the blog and winning the EFUF2016 blog competition? If so, what did it bring?

As a result of the blog competition I was able to attend EFUF 2016 in Ljubljana. Otherwise I would not have been able to visit Slovenia. It was very refreshing to meet so many people active in urban forestry from across Europe and Asia. It was fascinating to hear about the current developments in urban forestry, especially about the different types of problems and solutions regarding nature in cities across Europe. On a personal level it inspired me to think bigger and perhaps set up an urban forestry platform in Romania where research and best practices can be collected and are freely accessible to everyone.
Furthermore, the city of Ploiesti has a new mayor and already we look forward to be working with him in the second phase of the masterplan. Thanks to the EFUF recognition of the Ploiesti blog I can demonstrate that planning for nature is a common practice in many other countries and that urban nature is an asset, not a disadvantage.

Pieter Wieringa at EFUF 2016 in Ljubljana

We are really glad to hear that. In your blog you wrote about abandoned industries (brownfields). What would your ideas or suggestions for their management in the city of Ploiesti and elsewhere be?

This is something we will have to explore in the second phase of the Ploiesti masterplan. I would like to see a partnership between the city and the oil refineries in creating and/or enlarging micro forest protection belt encircling them. The industrial forest protection belt would be multifunctional – reducing noise and pollutants as well as producing biomass.
The industrial forest protection belts and brownfields could become a source of renewable energy production. The trees on these sites could be harvested for the purpose of producing biofuels and/or contributing directly to the local state heating infrastructure through clean incineration. The city could put financial incentives in place through which factory owners could be persuaded to create a start-up company in biofuel production. Another use of low quality timber harvest could lay in plastic production. Wood fibres are an excellent alternative for plastics as opposed to petroleum based plastics.
Furthermore, some of these brownfields are genuine pleasant places to be. I am sure sporting events could be organized on the sites proven to be safe from pollution. The industrial heritage green run perhaps?

You really see a lot of potential uses for brownfields that mostly just stay untapped. What are the main challenges facing you in the field of urban forestry?

One of the main challenges in urban forestry is the lack of awareness of its potential. In Romania’s larger cities nature is starting to receive more attention, but in regional cities like Ploiesti that is simply not on the agenda. When there are funds, the city council prefers to spend them in health care, road infrastructure, employment and waste management.
Another problem is pollution. During the communist era the main theme was production at any cost. Consequently, some areas in the vicinity of chemical factories are probably polluted, but there is not enough publicly available data on that. There is still a large number of polluted former factories in Romania that need investments to be decontaminated.

One of the EFUF 2016 messages was that if there was any better time to invest in urban forestry, it would be now. We hope it gets accross. What are you currently working on and what is your plan for the future?

Very soon we hope to found The Făgăraș Research and Policy Institute. The institute would conduct and develop relevant research related to the Făgăraș area, such as pushing for the creation of a new natural park in the nearby Făgăraș Mountains (Romania’s tallest mountains) with sustainable forestry and ecoturism in mind as well as experiments in urban forestry in the city of Făgăraș.

That sounds wonderful, good luck with the institute. Now that we have come to the end of the interview, what is it that will you remember most about EFUF 2016 and your visit to Slovenia?

What I will remember most about Slovenia is her nature and appreciation for it. As I have seen in Ljubljana and Celje, it really is possible to employ nature as an equally important tool for progress and development. I was really happy to meet so many people from different backgrounds at EFUF 2016 who are passionate about urban forestry. The format of the conference was also really good – with very interesting presentations in the mornings and with informal discussions over a pint of Slovenian beer in the evenings. This allowed me to fully understand the work and research involved! I really enjoyed meeting so many people at EFUF 2016 and I would like to thank the Slovenian Forestry Institute and Slovenia Forestry Service in Celje for the support. Perhaps one day I can return the favour and see all you urban foresters in Romania!

Thank you Pieter, we wish you all the best in your future work!

Pieter Wieringa was interviewed by Anita Mašek (Slovenian Forestry Institute). You can read Pieter’s winning blog here.

#EFUF2016 Communications Team: A Story by Boris

It was the final session of the 19^th European Forum on Urban Forestry in the Palatium hall of Ljubljana Castle, Slovenia. The participants were applauding while I was presenting the winners of the #EFUF2016 blog competition. Speaking on the big stage, my stomach felt a bit jittery – the sleep deprived nights that led up to the event finale and heavy coffee consumption were starting to leave an impact.

A few moments earlier I presented the current on-line and social media statistics of the EFUF 2016 social media coverage. During the 5 days of the Forum, over 1000 tweets were sent and delivered over 140.000 times to almost 25.000 different Twitter accounts. Over 5000 people were reached on Facebook and 600 people were informed daily through our mailing list. The live webcast of the opening and plenary session had over 700 live views. More importantly, our contributions were seen, read and recognized by the members of urban forestry communities from all over the world.

#EFUF2016 Communications Team at Ljubljana Castle (top from left to right: Natalija, Magda, Špela, Anita, Ana, Janez, Boris; bottom: Saša, Urša; missing: Liza, Luka, Andrej, Boštjan, Robert).

After handing the certificate of recognition and microphone to Pieter Wieringa, author of the winning blog, I left the stage and sat down with happy and fulfilling thoughts racing through my mind. The first stop was Durban, South Africa. I remembered learning about the power and the art of social media reporting from my personal guru (although he hates to be called that), Peter Casier at the #Forests2015 Social Media Bootcamp. What an experience! Intense, draining and fulfilling at the same time. When it was over, I made a promise to myself that I will try to repeat it as soon as possible.

My thoughts then shifted to early October of the same year. I remembered presenting the concept of the #EFUF2016 communication activities to Andrej (head of the organizational committee) and getting a puzzled, yet optimistic go-ahead from him. I remembered the recruitment process – persuading co-workers, presentation at the university, mass-emails, etc.  It wasn’t easy because team members had to invest several hours of volunteer work per week in addition to their busy work and private schedules. In return, they were promised to learn how to use social media to their advantage.

In December 2015, the team was complete and the communication strategy was prepared. I remembered the tilted heads of the more experienced team members, while they were overlooking the blueprints of our ambitious strategy for the first time. To make sure that the strategy would be properly implemented, we had weekly meetings, where we learned the art of blogging and of using different tools to disseminate the blogs and other content. We planned, executed and adjusted.

When most preparations were done, we stopped meeting – the “infrastructure” was in place, the team was trained, and there were other priorities that needed addressing.

May 2016, while looking like a great month retrospectively, was at moments a personal hell. In one or another role (organizer, speaker, lecturer …), I took part in 3-4 communication and dissemination activities of our Slovenian Forestry Institute and the project I manage (LIFEGENMON) per week. Not being a total extrovert and sometimes still learning on the job, such an amount of organization, management and public speaking was very difficult to handle. The members of our team mostly come from our Institute, and while their enthusiasm and work ethic could never be questioned, the team spirit started to slowly dissipate in the second half of the month because of the (too) demanding workload.

Then came the last week of May 2016 – the week of the EFUF. We were all working on fumes then and I wasn’t sure about how the communications team would work in action. We met extensively on Monday and Tuesday, created a detailed plan with roles for each team member and did the final tweaks of the online infrastructure. Some of the points on our to-do list had to be abandoned because of lack of time. On Tuesday evening, after the preparations were complete (and all of the twitterfall screens set up :)), I was still uneasy and had my doubts, but I was confident that we did all that we could to prepare for the Forum.

On Wednesday, the opening day of the Forum, magic happened. The plan was seamlessly implemented while I stood and watched in awe. Tweets were flying, photos were uploaded nearly automatically, blogs were produced almost in real-time, and the online urban forestry community took notice. Over 1000 tweets were sent…

… and then my name was called. I wasn’t expecting to be called on stage again, but it started to light upon me just a little bit before it happened – when the words “communication” and “dissemination” were spoken. Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosch and Clive Davies were presenting the Young European Urban Forester of the Year 2016 Award and I was selected as the runner-up. The path to the stage was blurry, and luckily I wasn’t offered to give a speech. Everybody was clapping and people were offering to shake my hand and patting me on the back but I couldn’t really respond because I was so shocked and confused.

One could argue that being a runner-up for such an award isn’t a big deal, and one could agree. But to me it really means a lot, not because of the diploma, but because of all of the sincere congratulations I’ve received and the recognition of the hard work the #EFUF2016 Communications team put in, often at the expense of their personal and family time.

Thank you!

– Boris

Photos: Urban Ušeničnik (find more photos on Flickr)

#EFUF2016 final twitter statistics and a Facebook comment (sources: keyhole.co, Facebook)

 

Sailors and Captains – Behind the Scenes of EFUF 2016

The success of events largely depends on people working behind the scenes. The spirit of meetings is created by participants, but the stage for final performance is put together by the organizational team. When these combine into perfection, an event becomes an evergreen – one that every participant will nostalgically remember for years to come.

It was a last day of EFUF 2016. I was drinking coffee and discussing why people in the organizational team were unusually calm and non-stressed during the whole conference. Someone said: “We are growing up.” Perhaps, but it seems to me that it is something more to this phenomenon of calm and assertive organizers.

The EFUF 2016 ship was navigated by excellent captains with the help of the best crew. During the voyage even the largest glaciers were no match for the Titanic that has successfully arrived to the port.

But what is the difference between the captain who sunk the ship or brought it back half-wrecked with a crew that’s hardly breathing and the good captain who is celebrating with their crew after peaceful landing?

A good captain has vision and is again and again embarking on a mission to pursue his dreams. he has clarity and values that serve him as a compass in times of rough sea and in darkest nights. He understands that journey takes time, so he carefully plans every step of the way. He is a dreamer and also an executor of his dreams. The good captain boards the ship first and is last to leave. He is the inspiration, mentor and teacher, who inspires and trusts his crew. He steps in front when ship drifts away from the planned route, but only to steer it back on the right path and calm down the anxious sailors.

9 roles of great leadership.

I believe that within ourselves we are all hiding a sailor who wants to follow a good captain because he has the power to awake some of our best qualities. And that within ourselves we all have a good captain who is pursuing perfection of ever elusive horizon of life. To recognize good captains and then to trust and follow them is a priceless ability, which enables learning and gaining experience in the safety of their guidance. It is a great gift to have the chance to awaken the good captain within us and by this strengthen our confidence and desire for changes. In the EFUF 2016 team, each of us was a sailor working with the crew for the ship and a good captain in the most critical moments.

The members of the organizational crew of EFUF 2016 are sincerely grateful for all your compliments and good thoughts. And without you, the passengers, our voyage would have no meaning. Thank you all for boarding the EFUF 2016 ship.

Authors: Saša Vochl, Boris Rantaša, Slovenian Forestry Institute

Photo: Tanmay Vora, QAspire.com

European Young Urban Forester 2016 comes from Germany!

Dr. Mohammad Asrafur Rahman, currently working as a Humboldt post-doctoral Research Fellow at Technical University of Munich, applied and won a competition for European Young Urban Forester of the Year 2016. He will be awarded with commendation, cash award and free subscription for one year to Urban Forestry Urban Greening!

Awarding committee, led by Clive Davies, recognized excellence of Dr. Mohammad A. Rahman in urban forestry practice and urban forestry research. His PhD thesis entitled “Effects of Species and Rooting Conditions on the Growth and Cooling Performance of Urban Trees” was awarded the “Outstanding PhD Award” with seven research articles published in journals of academic repute. His academic expertise and research experience made him a suitable candidate for the award 2016 and we hope it will further encourage his devotion in the field of Urban Forestry.

Field experiment of  Dr. Mohammad A.Rahman

Your favourite urban forest? Where is it, why is it special?

My favourite urban forest is the “Englischer Garten” situated within the centre of the bustling city of Munich, Germany. With an area of 3.7 km², the Englischer Garten is one of the Europe’s largest urban public parks stretching from the city centre to the northeastern city limits. Due to its location and offerings of numerous services it attracts both locals and tourists equally.  Cyclists and hikers can enjoy a 78-kilometer-long network of green paths surrounded by dark stands of mature oak and maple before emerging to a beautiful vista of the city offered by the Monopteros along with the hill. If not, they will surely find Kleinhesseloher See, a lovely lake at the centre of the park or a beer garden right by the Chinese Tower. This 370 hectare urban forest is not only serving the society as an natural recreational area but also as the green lung for over a million people living in the Munich’s agglomeration.

Which tree represents your personality and why?

I think maple tree represents me better. One of the dominant urban tree species which can adapts to situations with tolerance to hard conditions. With full of imaginations and originality I can see the appeal of living in a city. Self-confident; however, often shy, always keen to learn new experiences and deep dense extended canopy to shade the people underneath. With its magical autumn color it provides the comfort and support to people in their personal journey.

In your country of current residence – are urban forests more important than »regular, non-urban« forests?

In Germany, people have started to realize the importance of urban forests more than ever. Since most of the people now live in compacted cities, the urban forests or overall ecosystems already became an absolute necessity to provide environmental, economic and social benefits to them. With ongoing climate change and urbanization the integrated concept of urban greenery has been recognized to improve the quality of urban life and environment.  Most of the residents now want to have denser urban tree canopy to get the proven benefits of trees in a city.

The funniest moment that you experienced in your job?

In June 2015 we were working with Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) devices within a public square in Munich. TLS devices contain two big boxes attached with a computer and obviously with a scanning device, the whole system looks like a movie shooting device especially with other sensing devices attached with the trees. Couple of pedestrians stood there over hours and observed carefully what scene we were shooting :)! After that they approached us and asked whether they are in the film or not. When we explained them we are rather measuring the tree crowns their face became so faint that I can never forget.

What is your opinion on EFUF 2016 organization, its visibility and success?

I think EFUF is a unique platform for urban forestry practitioners; academicians as well as policy makers to stand together and exchange views. On the onset of gradual recognition of Urban Forestry as a profession this Forum can play a vital role in harmonizing cross-boundary co-operation in terms of what we already know, what we don’t know and what need to be done in future. In this regard this Forum has made significant progress within last few years and the annual meetings are getting increasingly successful. However, I still believe this is the beginning and we need to make the forum even more visible using as many channels as possible.

More advertisement on social media, printed media as well as more announcements in related conferences would certainly help to make the platform even more inclusive.

Additionally, web hosting of conference talks, live twitting and introduction of more award winning opportunities to join the conference free of cost for few excellent papers might make the upcoming events even more attractive to a range of participants.

Field experiment of Dr. Mohammad A. Rahman

Dr. Mohammad Rahman was interviewed by Špela Planinšek, Slovenian Forestry Institute. Since he could not attend EFUF meeting in Slovenia, we made an interview with him via mail.

Competition for European Young Urban Forester of the Year is supported by MD2 Consultants Ltd.

Back in Celje After 10 Years – EFUF 2016 Day Two Recap

After a decade EFUF returned to the city of Celje for a brief visit! Find out what we’ve been up to on the second conference day in our latest blog post.

Attendees of the EFUF 2016 were warmly welcomed in Celje, “the city of counts and princesses”, by the mayor Bojan Šrot. He has expressed his honour and pride in that, since first hosting EFUF in 2005, Celje has become a role model for urban forestry in Slovenia. He has been aware of the potential that developing the brand “Urban forest of Celje (Mestni gozd Celje)” can offer the city and its residents and has been strongly supportive of the efforts of Slovenia Forest Service towards establishing it. Damjan Oražem, director of Slovenia Forest Service, continued that in their unceasing endeavors they have gathered years of valuable experience that can now be passed on to other Slovenian cities.

EFUF 2016 in Celje (Photos: Urban Ušeničnik)

The second day of EFUF 2016 was characterized by lectures and discussions on the potential and ability of urban forests and green infrastructure in making cities and their parts more attractive and visible. This common thread was established at the very beginning by keynote speakers Robert Hostnik and Alan Simson. They expressed that branding urban forests is a long process involving a lot of cooperation, a risk that should be taken, as the rewards are bountiful and worth every effort. Their lectures were followed by many constructive presentations, offering a lot of applicable solutions and practical tools (such as lighting and different assessment tools) for making cities and their forests more visible and visited, which can highlight the many services they provide and attract further investments.

It is worth remembering that “cities are like magnets – they can attract or repel”. Magnetic cities look and feel better, attract people and investments. And urban forestry has much to contribute to making our cities more ‘magnetic’, as it has the knowledge to make the urban environment a quality green environment. To achieve anything worthwhile communication and networking are essential – using any means possible to connect with authorities, stakeholders and people, and forming networks, partnerships and events to share knowledge, information and experience.

After the indoor part of the Forum’s second day we went to stretch our legs a bit and paid a visit to the Urban forest of Celje and its lovely tree house – the trip was full of surprises, delicacies, good mood and… vinegar free 🙂 We shall remember our visit to Celje as a very instructive (at times even challenging) experience and fun all the same – a real treat for all of our senses!

Authors: Anita Mašek, Špela Planinšek and Saša Vochl; Slovenian Forestry Institute

How Important are Forest Genetics for Urban Forests? – A Report from the LIFEGENMON Parallel Session

The LIFE LIFEGENMON is an European project for the development of a forest genetic monitoring system. Selected monitoring sites for European beech and Silver fir are located in Germany, Greece and Slovenia. The project staff presented their relevant practical experiences and findings to participants of 19^th European Forum on Urban Forestry in a parallel session at the Ljubljana Castle on June 1^st 2016.

The first speaker was the project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Hojka Kraigher from the Slovenian Forestry Institute. She opened the session of EFUF 2016 with a brief theoretical explanation of forest genetics and concluded the presentation of the LIFEGENMON project. She explained that genetic diversity level is the basis for all higher levels of biodiversity (species, ecosystem) and that forest genetic resources are threatened by several factors, the most important of which is climate change. She also highlighted the work of the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN).

Prof. Dr. Hojka Kraigher: “Genetic diversity is the basic level of all biodiversity (species, ecosystem).”

The second presentation was more specific – Domen Finžgar (Slovenian Forestry Institute) gave a very interesting lecture about the use of UAV (drones) in forestry. He is a part of the multidisciplinary team that developed the prototype of LUCANUS, a remotely controlled drone for collecting samples in tree canopies and stated that: “Drone sampling is not science-fiction, but possible fiction. It is an unique, cost-effective, precise and safe tool.” This contribution will certainly aid to remote data sensing techniques.

Dr. Marjana Westergren discussed the importance of forest genetics for (peri)-urban woodlands and emphasized that if we want urban forest to thrive and be resilient, we have to use our knowledge of forest genetics. That means that we need to ensure sufficient gene flow in urban forests by collecting diverse seed for sowing and planting. Genetic monitoring might be especially important in (peri)-urban forests as an early warning system of changes that are about to happen at the ecosystem level.

Dr. Marjana Westergren: “If we want urban forest to thrive and be resilient, we have to use our knowledge of forest genetics!”

To close the session, Dr. Evangelia Avramidou from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) presented how trees, growing in polluted metropolitan areas of Thessaloniki, showed different phenotypic response to urban environment stresses. She stated that forest genetic monitoring is crucial for future forest ecosystem protection and is invaluable tool for sustainable forest management.

To a casual observer, the LIFEGENMON project might not have much in common with urban forestry. But after a closer look, the existing knowledge and research in the field of forest genetics can really help us understand how trees, exposed to an array of abiotic and biotic stresses in (fragmented) forest ecosystems in urbanized areas, can adapt, be more resilient and survive in the future.

Authors: Janez Kermavnar, Boris Rantaša

EFUF 2016: Day One Recap

The exciting first day of the European Forum on urban forestry 2016 is behind us! We have gathered today’s highlights for you in our new blog post.

More than 80 researchers and experts in urban forestry and green infrastructure from all over the world gathered today in Ljubljana at the venue of Ljubljana Castle to attend EFUF 2016, organized by Slovenian Forestry Institute, Slovenia Forest Service, the City of Ljubljana and the City of Celje.

First day of EFUF 2016. Photos: Urban Ušeničnik

“How to build cities that support life?” was the opening question of the EFUF 2016. Today the spotlight was on building the hosting city of Ljubljana, the European Green Capital of 2016. The city’s representatives presented efforts and achievements in environmental protection that could keep the city of Ljubljana green, healthy and beautiful; now and in the future.

The introduction was followed by keynote speakers: Cecil Konijendijk van den Bosch, Clive Davies, Tara Zupancic, Simone Borelli and Natalie Gulsrud. They touched the subject of the past and future development of urban forestry. Once urban forests were mostly parts of a city with an aesthetic value for the city residents, but today their numerous ecosystem services are gaining more and more recognition. Higher levels of governance and management can play an active role in green infrastructure development, using different means to encourage city municipalities to build greener and more sustainable cities. If urban forestry was once only a Western concern it is not anymore; it has turned global and is growing strong in the developing countries. Prominent speakers also defined the term ‘resilience‘, the main theme of this year’s EFUF, and together with valuable contribution from GREEN SURGE and LIFEGENMON projects presented different aspects of resilience: from governance and management to public health and biodiversity.

As we are recognizing the many benefits of urban forests and green infrastructure, we realize they might be the solution to many of our ‘urban’ problems. In the words of one of the speakers –“The green pill is all around us” – and there has never been a better time to invest in urban forests than now.

EFUF 2016 continues tomorrow, moving to the second venue in the city of Celje. You will hear more from us soon, so stay tuned!

Author: Anita Mašek, Slovenian Forestry Institute

EFUF 2016 Live – Tune In Now!

The European Forum on Urban Forestry 2016 will be broadcasted over the internet to ensure that anyone can participate. Here’s how to tune in:

Social media:

• Follow us on twitter (fastest updates, most content)
• Follow our facebook profile
• Join the LinkedIn group Urban Forestry
• Watch EFUF 2016 photos on flickr

IMPORTANT: Please don’t forget to use our official hashtag – #EFUF2016  – when creating tweets or facebook posts about the Forum.

E-mail:

• Sign up to the #EFUF2016 mailing list

Webcast:

Watch the webcast on this link (Embedded below – the webcast begins 1.6.2016 at 9:00 CET).

For more information on the programme and the conference, please visit the EFUF 2016 official website.

EFUF 2016 Begins Tomorrow!

Finally! The big day is almost here. We are honoured to host the 19^th European Forum on Urban Forestry in Ljubljana, the European Green Capital of 2016. All preparations for the forum are done. We are expecting urban forestry experts and other interested participants from all over the world. The welcome buffet opens at 6 pm at the Slovenian Forestry Institute, where the participants will get an opportunity to meet, discuss and share experiences and knowledge.

The #EFUF2016 blog competition has covered many different themes about urban forestry. Many blogs were received and published. Every blogger made a quality contribution with their personal aspects on urban forests. Blogs were mainly written in fields of resilience, health and well being, governance and management and city promotion. Thank you all for your comments, likes and sharing on social channels. You can reach our blog collection at https://efuf2016.wordpress.com/.

The participants will get to know Ljubljana and its green infrastructure during presentations, field trips and excursions to other parts of Slovenia. The conference will take place at the Ljubljana Castle and the field trips will be held in the urban forests of Ljubljana and Celje.

The conference will be live streamed on the official website by twitter (#EFUF2016) and other social channels. In case you can’t attend, the #EFUF2016 social media team will try to give you all important facts that will be highlighted during conference.

The #EFUF2016 Social media team

#EFUF2016 Blog Competition Winner

We are happy to announce the winner of the #EFUF2016 blog competition – it is Pieter Wieringa! Pieter’s contribution stood out for its originality, content and relevance. It represents an unique approach and analysis of most of the main themes that will be discussed at the forthcoming EFUF 2016 conference. We feel Pieter Wieringa’s contribution will make a significant impact in raising awareness and opening discussion about the importance of urban forest conservation, in his own country and beyond.

We would also like to congratulate Naomi Zürcher and John Gallagher, the finalists of the blog competition, for their highly commendable entries!

The winner wins a free full EFUF 2016 conference package, while the finalists will be rewarded with a free Saturday excursion. All three authors also get an opportunity to present the story behind their post at the EFUF 2016 conference, either by oral presentation or by a poster.

The #EFUF2016 blog competition received many diverse and fantastic blogs addressing the challenges of urban forestry. We would like to deeply thank you all for participating and we hope you will be joining us in Ljubljana!

Be sure not to miss our next blog post on the #EFUF2016 blog – we will present the authors of the best blog posts in more detail!

The Winner

“Nature Takes Over: Unexpected Green Change in Ploiesti, Romania” – Pieter Wieringa

Urban forestry in Romania is in its infancy. There are no present discussions taking a more holistic view at urban green spaces in Ploiesti. Based on field research and existing information I was able to create the above map and gather data. (Pieter Wieringa)

Read the whole post

The Finalists

“Resilience” – Naomi Zürcher

Now that most of us are living in cities, we’ve decided we want to put these Forest trees back into our urban landscapes, not the way they were before, not the way they have evolved to exist, but according to our needs and our designs. (Naomi Zürcher)

Read the whole post

“It’s a walk in the park” A green solution to lower air and noise pollution” – John Gallager

Have you ever thought about the route you take to work? Could you take a better route? What is a better route? I ask myself these questions when I make my commute to work every morning.(John Gallagher)

Read the whole post

Photo credit: Paxon Woelber