Spring 2011 TREE Fund Report: TREE Fund Awards First Jack Kimmel International Grants
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TREE Fund Awards Its First Jack Kimmel International Grants
Last fall the TREE Fund accepted the first proposals for its new Jack Kimmel International Grant program. This collaborative research grant program is administered by the TREE Fund and funded by the Canadian TREE Fund, primarily through the support of the Canadian Tour des Trees riders.
Eight grant proposals were submitted from as far away as New Zealand and Kenya. In December the TREE Fund Trustees voted to accept the recommendations of the Board’s Research Committee, awarding a total of $18,600 to two applicants, Dr. Susan Day (Virginia Tech) and Denise Johnstone (University of Melbourne, Australia).
Dr. Day, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, was awarded $10,000 to study “Strategies to resolve conflicts between (existing) trees and new Low Impact Development (LID) storm water practices”.
Ms. Johnstone is a lecturer in Urban Tree Management at University of Melbourne’s Burnley Campus and, like Dr. Day, is a frequent presenter at educational conferences. Her project explores “A novel way of measuring tree vitality in mature urban trees using bark chlorophyll fluorescence.”
The Jack Kimmel International Grant Program honors the late Jack Kimmel, former director of parks for the City of Toronto who contributed 46 years of active leadership to the ISA and its Ontario chapter. Kimmel awards are limited to a maximum of $10,000 per project, and research is expected to be completed in 1-3 years.
The deadline for applications for Jack Kimmel International Grants is November 1.