Coping with Heat: Community Perceptions and Experiences of Urban Forests in Metro Vancouver, Canada Speaker: Kit Wong-Stevens | 1/2 CEU | 1/2 CFE Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 8:30 am PDT | Live Q&A following webinar Online Store: https://pnwisa.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=18646371 As a result of climate change, the severity and frequency of heatwaves will increase in Canadian cities, exacerbating heat-related morbidity and mortality, especially in mar- ginalized urban communities. Given the substantial societal and health impacts of heat, there is a crucial need to identify strategies to address these challenges and protect in- dividuals across all population groups. Urban forests are an efficient solution to reduce urban temperatures via shading and evapotranspiration, thereby fostering climate resil- ience and mitigating heat-related health impacts. However, marginalized urban residents often have limited access to urban forests and their cooling benefits. It is not entirely understood how urban residents’ personal preferences, culture, mobility, or marginaliza- tion may impact their heat coping strategies. This limits the capacity of municipalities to design urban green spaces that meet the heat resilience needs of diverse populations. In this webinar, I will discuss 1) how diverse urban residents in Vancouver, Canada use and experience urban forests as a heat coping mechanism and 2) how urban residents’ preferences and experiences of urban forests to cope with heat are reflected in urban forest and health policies and actions, and their implications for public health outcomes.
Panelist: Kaitlyn Pike, PhD Student The University of British Columbia
Kaitlyn is a Ph.D. student studying urban forest governance and green equity at The University of British Columbia. Kaitlyn’s research inter- ests revolve around people’s perceptions and values of green spaces and how to best protect and manage trees in an increasingly urbanized world. In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys nature photography, video games, Panelist: Ian Scott, Regional Manager & Urban Forestry Specialist Davey Resource Group Based out of Shoreline, Washington, Ian has served clients as part of the Davey Resource Group team throughout the Western U.S. and Canada since 1998. He works with many cities to develop urban forest manage- ment consulting solutions, deliver urban tree inventories, and provide urban tree canopy assessments. Ian has a Bachelor of Science degree
and turning anything into an adventure.
in Forestry and Environmental Management from the University of New Brunswick, Can- ada. He is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist with a Tree Risk Assessment Qualifi - cation. He is a 2009 graduate of the Municipal Forestry Institute. Panelist: Kit Wong-Stevens, MSc Student, The Urban Natures Lab The University of British Columbia
Kit Wong-Stevens completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropol- ogy and Forestry at the University of Toronto. She is currently a MSc student under Dr. Lorien Nesbitt in the Urban Natures Lab at the Uni- versity of British Columbia. She uses methods to study the urban forest preferences of diverse residents to cope with heat and is also interested in environmental justice, public health, community engagement, and ur- ban planning.
Kit completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Forestry at the University of Toronto. She is currently a MSc student under Dr. Lorien Nesbitt in the Urban Natures Lab at the University of British Co- lumbia. She uses methods to study the urban forest preferences of di- verse residents to cope with heat and is also interested in environmental
justice, public health, community engagement, and urban planning.
ATC ‘21 - Resilient Communities: People, Places & Trees
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ATC ‘21 - Resilient Communities: People, Places & Trees
Page 45
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