Photo Credit: Courtesy of Stevie Kitching
WHEN STEVIE KITCHING walks into a classroom, she has one goal: to help lower the barriers to outdoor experiences for marginalized students through hands-on lessons and activities. Working as an educator for the nonprofit Let’s Go 123 in Lancaster, Pa., Kitching is always looking for innovative teaching tools that help her students connect to the material.
Over the past year, American Forests’ Tree Equity Score has become an integral part of her lessons. The Tree Equity Score tool combines demographic, climate, health and other data points with tree canopy cover to generate a neighborhood score which serves as a metric to guide cities in ensuring that every neighborhood, regardless of race or income, receives the benefits of trees.
Julia Twitchell, senior director of data, design and UX at American Forests, explains, “There are deep disparities woven into our urban fabric, and this map reveals how some of our neighbors bear the weight of our shared histories more than others.”
Upon discovering the tool, Kitching spent time exploring maps of her students’ neighborhoods to better understand their communities. “I knew that if the tool got me that interested, it could engage the students as well,” Kitching explains.
In a recent lesson, Kitching took her middle school students outside for a “walk-and-talk” to explore their campus environment. As they walked, the students pointed out that most of the trees around the school were small, ornamental ones clustered in the front and reported that during recess they often had to jockey for a spot under the lone tree large enough to provide shade.
Afterward, Kitching introduced them to Tree Equity Score, giving each student the freedom to explore the tool — and their own neighborhoods — before the class refocused on their school’s score. By the end of the lesson, students were not just learning about Tree Equity, they were actively planning how they could improve their campus’ Tree Equity Score.
Kitching has seen students work with the map and each other, animatedly comparing their neighborhoods and debating the possible reasons their respective scores might differ. What’s more, students are retaining the information and asking to use the tool in subsequent lessons.
Photo Credit: American Forests
During a lesson about erosion, a student wondered about the Tree Equity Score of their local waterway’s riparian area. She and her classmates checked the map to answer the question for themselves. Another student was overheard planning to use the tool to reroute his walk home from school to a path with more shade.
Kitching emphasizes, “Getting students engaged enough to get curious and ask questions is every educator’s goal. Having a tool like Tree Equity Score in my back pocket gives me a resource to help make that happen.”
The Tree Equity Score map is free and user-friendly. It has been used heavily by American Forests’ implementation partners, but by bringing the tool into the classroom, Kitching demonstrates that the concept of Tree Equity is compelling and accessible to even our youngest citizens and future land stewards.
Students have an easy time navigating the technology while being introduced to complex concepts and new vocabulary through the impactful and hands-on visual aid of the tool.
“Tree Equity Score has become a force in its own right,” says Twichell. “It offers a lens that makes the stories of our cities more visible. And the best part is that anyone — whether a student or a seasoned city planner — can use it to make a difference.”
