NEW STANDARDS TO MEASURE RELEAF SUCCESS

One of the metrics used to gauge the success of ReLeaf efforts includes a new global standard that has been introduced called the 3:30:300 Rule.

This new global standard set goals that each household should be able to see 3 trees from their home, there should be 30% canopy coverage per neighborhood, and residents should be able to walk at most 300 meters to a local public greenspace. Using this rule sets a standard that access to a thriving urban canopy should be equally accessible throughout a neighborhood. The 3:30:300 rule was introduced by Professor Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosch, the Nature Based Solutions Institute Program Director, in February of 2021 He suggested that it is difficult to capture the wide range of benefits provided by an urban forest, this rule captures environmental benefits from the number of trees and canopy coverage data while also capturing social benefits through park accessibility This outlines a minimum standard for meaningful access to tree canopy and its benefits in urban areas regardless of location Ideally, urban areas would exceed these numbers and have more access to tree canopy than the base values of 3:30:300

Using this standard to assess the state of Lawrenceville’s urban forest, a sample of Lawrenceville residents were asked if they were able to see three trees from a window in their home Of the 40 residents asked, 25 could see three trees from their window The average canopy coverage for the three Lawrenceville neighborhoods is 19%, setting it below the 30% canopy coverage goal The final goal is to have all households within 300 meters of park space. Public greenspace accessibility will be restricted to cityowned parks for the purpose of this document, as the intent is a space that provides multiple opportunities for recreation/enjoyment of nature in an area 1 hectare or larger (2 5 acres) The following maps demonstrate a 300-meter range from parks located in each neighborhood of Lawrenceville. Applying this to Lawrenceville demonstrates areas of improvement around the neighborhoods. For example, areas that do not have access to the 300-meter park buffer demonstrate areas in need of greenspaces.

Illustration from SpringerLink website https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11676-022-01523-z/figures/1