| dc.description.abstract | In an era of increasingly extreme weather events exacerbated by the climate crisis, cities could benefit greatly from increasing the density of trees and shrubs in their urban landscapes. With three locations in Halifax and one in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University’s campuses are studied as small-scale Canadian urban coastal areas. The goal of the study is to determine where tree planting on all four campuses would be most beneficial. Three factors are selected as the most important determinants to inform decision-making at Dalhousie. Tree and shrub species, planting locations, and planting configurations should be selected to maximize their capacity to help control stormwater, to enhance local biodiversity, and to require little maintenance. Preliminary research made use of maps of the four campuses, provided by Dalhousie’s Office of Sustainability, to detail the potential locations for future tree and shrub planting. From there, digital maps were created to represent the best areas to plant vegetation. A focus group was also conducted with several members of the Dalhousie community who were selected based on their expected expertise on the topic of stormwater control, biodiversity enhancement, and maintenance requirement. The focus group was aided by seven open-ended questions to facilitate the conversation and to encourage people to share their opinions on the matters with few constraints. Members of the focus group emphasized the importance of trees on campus and their benefits for education, in terms of strengthening the learning experience of university students directly and indirectly; plant health, by enhancing biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and climate change mitigation; and human health, by providing aesthetic, psychological, and social benefits. Due to the prevalence of impermeable surfaces on Dalhousie University’s campuses, stormwater control is an issue that could be greatly improved with the addition of trees, shrubs, and permeable surfaces. Plant and animal biodiversity in urban areas can also be increased by adding more vegetation. Increased biodiversity also has intrinsic benefits by providing ecosystem services. Plant species and planting locations can be chosen to require less maintenance to reduce costs, and the choice to naturalize certain green spaces and can be even more effective at reducing maintenance requirements on Dalhousie’s campuses. | en_US |
