Hyland R. Johns Grant Program

INTRODUCTION

Established in 1995 to honor one of the leaders in the arboriculture industry and a founder of the ISA Research Trust, the Hyland R. Johns Grant Program funds longer term research and technology transfer projects that have the potential of benefiting the everyday work of arborists. Projects are expected to be completed within three to five years, with a maximum award value of $25,000. No project may receive more than one award from this program.

2024 RESEARCH PRIORITIES

In 2024, TREE Fund’s Hyland Johns Grant program will be focused specifically on the following areas:

Urban forest management to include:

• Inventory techniques, assessment,  interpretation, etc.
• Pruning, removal, relocation, etc.
• Surveys to inform decision making (Tree surveys will be considered if they address a research question, inform decision making, or otherwise have applicability that can be generalized beyond the tree population being measured)

Ecosystem Services to include:

• Interactions with other biota (birds, pollinators, nuisance plants/animals, etc)
• Impact of weather events (storm water runoff, increased temperature, wind  tolerance, etc.)

Tree health to include:

• Identification and management of insects, diseases, viruses, phytoplasmas, and other biotic agents that are known or suspected of affecting tree health
• Inadvertent impact of chemicals used for other purposes (e.g. herbicides, deicing salt, airborne pollutants) on urban tree health
• Role of environment on predisposition of trees to other biotic agents.

Decay to include:

•    Identification, assessment, and mitigation of biotic organisms that cause decay in trees.
•    New and/or improved means to determine the presence in trees or to determine their threat to structural integrity

This list is by no means inclusive, and we will consider proposals that may address many other topics related to tree health maintenance.

TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature. TREE Fund does not fund the following types of projects, and will not accept applications for such work:

• Grants to individuals;
• Projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments;
• Tree planting programs;
• Studies of individual tree species for the primary purpose of agricultural or timber/forest planting yield;
• Commercial tree- or soil-related product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

The first step to apply for this grant is to send an email containing a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) of no more than 100 words describing your project title and concept to hhupke@treefund.org between August 1, 2024 and September 15, 2024.

LOI Requirements:

• No more than 100 words
• Include project title and concept
• Identify Principal Investigator and Institution who will be contracted for the work
• Note you wish to apply for the Bob Skiera Grant Program

If your LOI is approved, TREE Fund will send you a numbered application form for your use. Information for the Application Requirements can be found here. You may not apply without such a numbered application form. TREE Fund determines on whether an LOI meets the application criteria are final and not negotiable.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Application Requirements can be found here.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

It is TREE Fund’s explicit desire that research findings eventually be freely and widely available to any and all parties who may benefit from the author’s work. At the same time, TREE Fund recognizes the importance of academic and professional journal publications and will work with grant recipients to ensure that findings are disseminated in a manner that is cognizant of all parties’ schedules and needs. Recipients should inform TREE Fund when funded research findings are published or presented at conferences so that these accomplishments can be widely publicized. Recipients should also recognize the support provided by TREE Fund in their articles or presentations related to the funded project. Recipients are strongly encouraged to publish findings to relevant professional journals, i.e. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Arboricultural Journal, Trees: Structure and Function, Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Plant Pathology, Hortscience, Horticultural Science, Sustainable Development, Landscape and Urban Planning, Journal of Urban Health, Environment and Urbanization, Urban Ecosystems, etc.