Page 51 - Mapping the Nation: Taking Climate Action

trees by 2021 and increase tree canopy in some areas by 50 percent by 2028 as part of LA's Green New Deal. A champion for a data-driven approach to urban canopies, Malarich will collaborate with Davey Tree, StreetsLA, the Department of Recreation and Parks, and City Plants to conduct the city's first fully integrated public tree inventory to improve data, track trends, and inform urban forest management policies and best practices for the future. To date, over 168,000 street trees and 94,000 park trees have been inventoried. City Plants hosted a second SEEDS scholar this summer to build on Estrada's efforts. Cindy Chen, a master's candidate studying environmental science at Cal State LA, created an interactive dashboard and map to showcase City Plants' efforts and help track tree canopy goals in Mayor Garcetti's Green New Deal. Chen picked up where Estrada left off, mapping trees planted through the City Plants program. She also spent the summer mapping viable locations for tree planting along residential neighborhoods in low-canopy regions of the city, a critical step in reaching the canopy equity goal in the Green New Deal. City Plants plans to conduct targeted outreach and community engagement in the areas Chen helped define. Another grant is funding renowned tree canopy expert Vivek Shandas as a visiting scholar. He will use GIS data to determine where best to expand tree canopy in low-income, heat-impacted areas, focusing on equity. "Tree planting in Los Angeles is a hugely collaborative effort," O'Leary said. "I think it's one of the most exciting times to be doing this work. And I think it's timely. When we talk about building resilient communities, trees are a part of that equation. They are not a silver bullet solution, but they are definitely one step we can take to building a more equitable, climate-resilient future for Angelenos." SEEDS scholars have also made an impact on other social justice projects. For example, SEEDS scholar Takouhi Tarkhanyan worked with the Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership (LARRP) to create an interactive map of resources like housing, education, and mental health for formerly incarcerated people to help ease their transitions. She transformed what was a text document into a vibrant and instantly helpful resource. Her work directly led to a further $175,000 in funding for LARRP. Many other student projects are also in the works. In the second year of the NSF-funded partnership, all SEEDS internships were virtual because of COVID-19. But since the groundwork was laid in 2019, the program is on strong footing to continue with more training and internship projects. Collaboration: The Key to Success In this story, the partnership between academia, government, and nonprofit organizations sparked quick progress: NSF providing grant money, the City of LA offering staff support and open data through its GeoHub, Cal State LA's administration orchestrating the program, and the faculty training students in data literacy. Community partners are connecting students and organizations that needed help with big data. Nonprofit organizations are doing the hard work to transform Los Angeles, alongside engaged residents who donate and volunteer. And the students themselves are diving in, caring, applying data science, and giving back to their communities. "We've been able to increase the efficacy of our training programs, our partnerships, and how the city sees what it does in the community," Scott-Johnson said. "Most importantly, we have created cultural relevancy in the way that students use their classroom activities and their learning to make a difference for their community." A greener LA is already taking shape with this collaboration. Leaders of the SEEDS program, City Plants, and the City of LA hope others will be inspired and take action to unite open data, community groups, academia, and government to work toward a more equitable future. 50 Extreme Heat