Urban Resources Initiative

URI engages in a series of partnerships to ensure the success of its programs. Collaborating with not-for profit organizations, educational institutions and government groups, URI's work ranges from local initiatives to national programs.

LOCAL
Community Greenspace Program
Through the Community Greenspace Program, URI partners with the City of New Haven, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and local community groups to undertake restoration projects in every New Haven neighborhood. This program provides a critical resource to reclaim communities by offering technical and material support to active community groups working to restore streetscapes, parks, abandoned lots and other neighborhood common areas. This partnership with communities also creates opportunities for urban ecology research and academic and job training opportunities for Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies students who serve as program interns.

Open Spaces as Learning Places Program
The Open Spaces as Learning Places Program integrates an environmental education initiative into the Community Greenspace Program. Yearly, URI works with New Haven public school teachers and community groups to teach almost 250 5th grade students about scientific concepts using local open spaces such as restored abandoned lots, cemeteries, pond, parks and rivers. Students from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies work with a URI educator and New Haven public school teachers to present the programs. The Open Spaces as Learning Places program would not be possible without the help and willing participation of many teachers, school administrators and of course amazing students throughout the City of Haven. But one of our most important partners is the New Haven Park Rangers. Each semester, these rangers take our students canoeing on New Haven's rivers in order to give them a chance to better understand the wetlands and watersheds that encompass our great city. At the end of the ten weeks, students always credit their adventure with the Rangers as being a true highlight of the program. Fifth grader Jacob Rivera wrote that paddling the Mill River "was one of the most important trips of his life."

State Connecticut Urban Forest Council
URI participates in state-level activities through the Connecticut Urban Forest Council (CUFC). With this organization, URI plans events for local urban forestry practitioners, including a conference in the fall of 2004 that was attended by more than 100 natural resource professionals including landscape architects, tree wardens and park and municipal agency personnel. Additionally, URI is working with the CUFC to develop a Connecticut Releaf program to bring attention to effective urban forestry programs within the state. For more information visit www.cturbanforestcouncil.org.

Click here to read more about Urban Ecology Collaborative

REGIONAL
Urban Ecology Collaborative (UEC)
URI is a partner in the Urban Ecology Collaborative (UEC), a research partnership among universities, non-profit organizations, city agencies and the U.S. Forest Service in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New Haven. Each city involves multiple partners in the UEC. In New Haven, the partners include URI, as well as the New Haven Ecology Project and the City of New Haven's Park and Recreation Department. The UEC works to share and replicate successful community based urban forestry activities and education models, and is undertaking research to further the understanding of urban ecosystems. This information sharing collaborative brings together the knowledge, experience, and problem-solving techniques of each city for ultimately, the group will create and implement a 'tool kit' of well-tested field models. The UEC has four working groups: Restoration Tools, Environmental Education, Research, and a Steering Committee. In analyzing the large body of data collected by each member city, the U.S. Forest Service’s participation enables the collaborative to conduct region-wide urban ecology research. It is difficult to determine if urban ecology trends are site-specific, and the ability for this federal institution to create a multi-city study provides insight into the trends that are unique to certain cities and those that exist across a larger scale. For more information visit www.urbanecologycollaborative.org.

NATIONAL
USFS Living Memorial Program
URI is partnering with the USDA Forest Service’s Living Memorials Project. Congress established this initiative in response to the tragic events of September 11th. This program harnesses the symbolic power of trees as living memorials for all Americans affected by terrorism. The memorials are created through the assistance of cost-share grants and design and development guidance from Forest Service professionals. Grants are intended to help communities create special places to remember, reflect and heal, as well as develop programs that contribute to revitalizing our economy, public health, ecological health and sense of social cohesion.

The U.S. Forest Service sought URI as a partner organization to develop a grant process and a technical assistance program for the State and local governments and non-profit organizations submitting proposals for the Living Memorial Projects. As the grants administrator for the Living Memorials Project, URI supports 15 grantees including the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for the World Trade Center memorial. For more information visit www.livingmemorialsproject.net.