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.
Asplundh’s Chief Operations Officer David Fleischner delivered the endowment announcement at the Trees & Utilities Conference, hosted by the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) and the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) on September 10. Over the next three years, Asplundh will donate more than $500,000 to the fund in time for it to be fully endowed before the company’s centennial in 2028. During this time, the fund will continue to award grants.
RESEARCH PRIORITIES
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 focused on traditional forestry and timber production, agroforestry, and ecology and conservation of forested and other natural areas,
- Product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Currently on hold until Fully Endowed
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.