Service learning can be an effective way to teach in a way that ensures engagement while building collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills that employers love. The challenge is finding an opportunity that is accessible, free, flexible, and of authentic service to the community. One idea that college educators should consider involves reporting, mapping, and analyzing empty tree pits in New York City.

A sad Brooklyn tree pit. Photo: Brett Whysel

Did you know New York City has over seven million trees, with a canopy that covers about 21% of the land? They remove about 1,300 tons of pollution annually, store 1.2 million tons of carbon to mitigate climate change, absorb storm water to reduce flooding and keep our streets cooler during warmer summers. However, New Yorkers need only take a short walk in their neighborhood to see tree pits that are either empty or with dead trees or stumps. In a city with recent experience of extreme weather, this is a wasted opportunity! It is easy to help the city plant trees where they are needed most.

Before designing and implementing a service-learning project, I recommend doing it yourself. Here is how: On your way to work, the store, or on your own urban hike, keep an eye out for empty tree pits. Note these in a notebook or—even better—a smartphone mapping app. On the spot, you can report these on the NYC Parks Website. Provide your email so you can receive updates. Track progress as these come in.

Create a map like this on your smartphone to avoid duplicate reporting and plan your search.
Image: Brett Whysel

Most of the time, the Parks Department will report back that they cannot plant a tree there due “conflicts with surrounding infrastructure,” such as electrical lines. However, it is a great feeling to receive an email with, “The location was inspected and is suitable for tree planting.” You may want to map these successes too.

So far, I have reported 250 missing trees, and received fifty promises to plant new ones, for a twenty percent success rate. I also got some needed exercise, got to know the surrounding neighborhoods, and felt good about doing something both constructive and local about the climate crisis.

If you are an instructor, reporting missing trees can make for a rewarding and tractable service-learning project in business, public administration, environmental science, Geographic Information Systems, and sociology, to name a few.

With my own tree pit reporting experience in mind, I am developing a service-learning plan for a future semester. One learning objective in my managerial decision-making course is ethical decision-making in general and corporate social responsibility in particular. A project relating to tree pit reporting could address the moral responsibilities of individuals, businesses, and government to address climate change, while building the career competencies mentioned above.

Your reporting can make for a better neighborhood. Photo: Brett Whysel

I might begin with a historical perspective of redlining and its continuing environmental legacy so that students see the social justice implications of the project.  Students will then form teams and assume specific roles such as manager, data analyst, researcher, environmental scientist, and neighborhood liaison to study and report back on missing trees. They might start by identifying missing trees in underserved neighborhoods (often their own). They can then work together to apply market research skills such as surveying and data analysis to understand the local impacts of reduced tree cover. They may research the potential impact on real estate prices, healthcare costs, or increased pollution. Next, they can prepare a cost-benefit analysis of replanting. They can present their results orally and in a formal report, which may include strategic recommendations for local business, residents, and city government.

So, go take a walk. Explore a new neighborhood. Find and report some empty tree pits. Use this experience to inform your own service-learning project. You will be doing good for the city’s environment, its people, your students, and yourself.