Traditionally, the perspectives of individuals with professional and academic training have often been prioritized over that of residents, despite the years of everyday experience those residents have in their neighborhood. Supporting a variety of perspectives is a key part of urban and community forestry, especially when residents have the in-depth knowledge of unsuccessful past efforts or have dealt with the unintended outcomes of those projects. Regarding trees, they can illicit all kinds of images, memories and experiences. Trees have incredibly important physical and environmental benefits, but they are just as critical to other dimensions of human life. That is why it’s important to ask community members about their perspective on trees. This step assumes that you have decided the format and setting for your community engagement and will focus more specifically on an activity to gather input.

Community Perceptions Activity

The outline below offers some probing questions to collect information about the community perceptions of trees. Based on your engagement strategy, adapt the worksheet and questions as necessary. The goal is that it provides a structure for collecting feedback and interpreting what you hear.

Instructions: In the right column, use the “Responses” section to take notes on your responses or, if in a group setting, on the discussion. The “Common themes” section is to document reoccurring comments or points that have widespread agreement among community members. Some examples for how you can use this activity include:

• Print out copies for residents to fill out in person at an event or to use during a group-based discussion.
• If you have a whiteboard or flip chart, write up the questions somewhere all can see and have people place sticky notes with their responses. An alternative is to have community members write up their responses on a whiteboard and use this sheet to take notes. Get creative with ways to make this most engaging for the audience.

Access a downloadable version of this activity. Community Perceptions Activity

Additional prompts to consider:

• Do you have any cultural connections to the trees in your neighborhood/community?
• How do the trees in your community affect your mood?
• What do you like best about your community? What are you most proud of?
• Do you have a favorite memory about a tree? What do trees mean to you?
• Are there places in your community that need more trees? If so, where?
• Are there places in your community where more attention is needed for tree maintenance? If so, where?

Additional activities to consider:

• Draw a picture of your street and describe what you like about it. Alternatively, describe this picture verbally and/or tell a story that exemplifies what your community means to you.
• Design an ideal street in your neighborhood. Explore Streetmix to visualize your ideal street.
• Print out an aerial map of the neighborhood. Mark the locations or spaces that are most significant to you and share why.