Карта CanopyFit расширяется по Британской Колумбии для эффективного озеленения городов

Tree-mapping tool piloted in Kelowna is expanding across B.C. to cool down cities Collaboration between UBC and the City of Kelowna hopes to help cities plant trees more effectively As B.C. cities grapple with rising summer temperatures, a new tool developed by the University of British Columbia is aiming to change how cities plant their urban trees. The pilot project, called CanopyFit, uses mapping and modelling to find where cities can get the best bang for their buck when it comes to planting trees to keep cities cool. By combining CanopyFit data with heat maps and demographic data, researchers are able to identify the needs in different areas. The project aims to maximize the benefits of the trees cities plant, so they grow larger and live longer, saving costs and dropping temperatures nearby by providing shade. In Kelowna, the project's team identified neighbourhoods like Rutland as high priorities for heat relief. CanopyFit maps underground utilities, overhead wires and other infrastructure that can often hinder planting. Taking these factors into account also help trees live longer and provide more shade cover, according to Melissa McHale, project lead and a University of British Columbia (UBC) forestry professor. "There's all these invisible barriers that I think are around us that we don't recognize because we're walking over them every day," McHale said. "But trees have an underground portion of them, so they actually encounter those barriers as they're growing. We need to take account of what is going to happen when we place a tree there." Researchers have found that every 10 per cent increase in tree canopy can reduce the heat people feel from their surroundings by roughly one degree. "We've really found that it's a really useful tool for being able explore questions and challenge assumptions from previous ways of assessing tree canopy goals especially," said Jennifer Miles, planning specialist with the City of Kelowna, of the tree-mapping pilot project. "We find that trees are super important for our climate adaptation and resilience, but oftentimes in Kelowna, our hot, dry climate makes it a lot more challenging to establish new trees." Roots in Kelowna, growing in Vancouver The pilot project is a collaboration between UBC researchers, Vancouver-based Diamond Head Consulting and the City of Kelowna, with the partnership starting in 2022. It is now expanding to Vancouver. Diamond Head Consulting will be incorporating CanopyFit into their work evaluating Vancouver's future canopy growth. The Vancouver-based company advises cities on how to protect green spaces and balance urban development with tree preservation, recently developing the City of Kelowna's Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy, which was adopted by city council in 2024. "We saw real alignment between the research methods and the questions cities are trying to answer," said Amelia Needoba, senior urban forester at Diamond Head Consulting. "It's been a powerful example of research and practice informing each other."