Kids count: One, Two, Tree. (Clippings).

"The local public works department is very excited about the work we have done and would like to see it expanded," says Lyn Malone, whose 8th grade world geography class in Barrington, Rhode Island, recently completed an analysis of the school's tree canopy using AMERICAN FORESTS' CITYgreen computer software.

The idea for the project came in 1999 when the state began requiring cities and towns to include an urban and community forestry component in their state-mandated comprehensive plans. Malone says she knew most Rhode Island communities were totally unprepared to meet this new state requirement. Without an inventory of their current tree resources, Rhode Island's cities and towns could not begin long-term planning.

She and another Barrington Middle School colleague, science teacher Jim Kaczynski, began brainstorming education plans that could help fill this arboreal void.

"I wanted something that was interdisciplinary and I really wanted the project to serve as a community service," Malone says. She was familiar with CITYgreen from previous work with GIS software developer ESRI and from a GIS Institute for Teachers that she had attended. CITYgreen uses aerial photography and tree inventories to map and measure tree canopies and calculate the environmental and economic benefits trees provide.

Malone and Kaczynski thought CITYgreen would be the perfect tool. The National Geographic Society Education Foundation agreed, awarding their Project One, Two, Tree a $25,000 grant over two years. ESRI also donated $25,000 worth of its ArcView GIS software to the project. The teachers launched the program last fall with 80 8th-graders, and the students soon were inventorying the school's tree canopy and using ClTYgreen to analyze and interpret data and create maps. With the project complete and a full-color report prepared, Malone's students presented their detailed study to administrators and local officials.

"The kids realized they are involved in something important," says Malone.

The project combined students' skills in math, biology, and other subject areas. "It [also] served as a vehicle to raise students' environmental awareness," she says. "They saw firsthand the importance of the data and important role of trees. In addition, the project is creating more informed decisionmakers for the future because the students are learning the importance of long-term planning.

"The students also became more conscious of dying trees that might be dangerous to passersby, which made the students more aware of their surroundings," Malone adds. "CITYgreen also made the power of GIS accessible to the students. Overall, it was an effective tool to teach real-world situations."

The use of GIS technology in Project One, Two, Tree not only captured students' attention, it enabled them to observe and analyze spatial patterns and relationships that would not have been possible with just a traditional textbook. According to Malone, "Students invested more personal energy into Project One, Two, Tree than any other world geography class project in my 32 years of teaching."

The second phase of Project One, Two, Tree is already underway. At the end of July, teachers from nine schools across Rhode Island received training in conducting tree inventories using CITYgreen. This fall and throughout the year, these GIS-savvy educators will use their new skills to educate students in the same way Malone and Kaczynski did at Barrington Middle. The nine-school effort will officially launch September 12 at a presentation with scientists, local politicians, urban foresters, teachers, students, and others.

After the nine schools complete their CITYgreen studies at the end of the 2002 school year, Malone expects to join others in assessing the project's success, then try to expand it across the state and nationwide (for more on Project One, Two, Tree: www.barringtonmiddle.org/onetwotree).

'CITYgreen has the potential to be a nationwide program in five years," says Mike Lehman, who coordinates CITYgreen sales for AMERICAN FORESTS. "The vision here is to have students graduate with a whole new level of environmental awareness acquired by using high-tech tools."

A number of educational institutions also use CITYgreen to teach students about GIS, trees, and the important benefits they provide. This year, a 10th grade teacher in Queensland, Australia, will join the ranks of teachers who use the desktop software program. The software's formulas are based on U.S. soil types and ecosystems, so its overseas applications are somewhat limited. "But it can still be a great educational tool," says AMERICAN FORESTS' Lehman.

At the college level, CITYgreen is being used both for research and in adult education curriculum to show middle and high school teachers how they can use the software in their classes. The University of Southern California and NC State are among the universities that use the software.

For more information about CITYgreen, contact Mike Lehman at [e-mail] or by calling 202-955-4500 ext. 212.