Instant Input partnered with the City of Rochester to work with city officials to get feedback on their Urban Master Forest Plan.
The plan has received citizen feedback from over 300 survey responses via Instant Input’s project map.
What’s Included in the Plan?
Located within the Department of Environmental Services (DES), the City of Rochester’s Forestry Division manages the care and maintenance of approximately 64,000 public trees along City streets, parks, and cemeteries.
Last completed in 2012, the City’s Urban Master Forest Plan is ready to refresh.
This plan includes tree pest management, pruning, planting, removal, inspection, and responding to public requests for care.
Community input is an important component of this plan, with both in-person meetings and via the open survey on Instant Input’s map.
This plan guides policies caring for 64,000 trees along streets, parks, and cemeteries. The Forestry Division hopes to address environmental justice issues as well.
The Urban Master Forest Plan will impact more than the City’s trees and landscaping.
The Urban Master Forest Plan’s anticipated benefits include:
- Reducing cardiac disease, strokes, and asthma rates due to improved air quality.
- Protecting biodiversity, including habitats for migrating birds and pollinators.
- Reducing obesity levels by increasing physical activity, including walking and cycling.
- Managing our water to keep pollutants out of waterways and reduce urban flooding.
- Increasing neighborhood property values.
- Reducing Stress by helping interrupt thought patterns that lead to anxiety and depression.
- Cooling city streets by 2-4 degrees, reducing deaths from heat, and cutting energy use.
- Filtering up to ⅓ of fine particle pollutants within 300 yards of a tree.
