STRATUM Data Collection and Analysis: Baltimore

Baltimore’s 2007 Sample Survey Background TreeBaltimore Why a survey? Why a sample? Why iTree?

Baltimore’s 2007 Sample Survey Partners & Division of Labor Baltimore City Department of Recreation & Parks (TreeBaltimore & Forestry) Training & equipment Baltimore City Department of Planning Technical, data review, QA/QC Parks & People Foundation Volunteer management & project logistics

Baltimore’s 2007 Sample Survey Timeline Planning began in April Training occurred in June Surveying occurred throughout July QA/QC began mid-way through surveying and is wrapping up now

Baltimore’s 2007 Sample Survey Survey Structure Random selection of 500 sample blocks PDA vs. Paper Paper option served as a backup Using in concert with a GPS in the field No benefit when sampling

Baltimore’s 2007 Sample Survey Logistical Structure City divided into five sections Volunteers put in groups of two or three Partners changed frequently Schedules produced on a weekly basis Parks & People office was the hub for volunteer check in and out

Working With Volunteers Pools of interested volunteers Utilized contact and distribution lists of all partners Expectations and time commitments Volunteer expertise Tree Identification PDAs Knowledge of Baltimore streets

Working With Volunteers Training Four hour training prior to surveying Some additions/revisions added Could have had more extensive mentoring during beginning of survey period Volunteer support materials

Analysis Data Quality As function of training QA/QC during and after data collection Inputting data into STRATUM

Lessons Learned Things you won’t find in the manual Logistics Weather concerns Safety iTree database setup

Lessons Learned The danger of the two sided dbh tape Spend more time on design & planning Be in touch w/volunteers in the field Start QA/QC early No need for dividing city into sections Better tracking of block assignments for QA/QC Pre-testing, pre-testing, pre-testing

Helpful Hints Some helpful tips T-shirts – good to have something to identify surveyors Equip surveyors with info about project Prioritize what information needs to be collected Plan to complete more surveying than needed Thank your volunteers!