Creating Study-Specific Tools to Increase Community and Student Engagement

Amy Dunbar-Wallis,Laura Baumgartner,Lisa Corwin,Irfanul Alam,Katharine Suding,Adalyn Schuenemeyer,Kika Tuff,Deidre Jaeger,Maggie Prater,Paige Littman,Amelia Brackett Hogstad

doi:10.5334/cstp.420

Abstract

The Boulder Apple Tree Project (BATP) at the University of Colorado agglomerates ecological, historical, and genetic information regarding apple trees in Boulder County, Colorado with the assistance of community members, undergraduates, and researchers. Our goal is to map and measure historic apple trees in Boulder to find the varieties that were planted as part of Boulder’s unique apple industry in the early 1900s. These trees are of interest to historians, horticulturalists, cider makers, and ecologists wishing to preserve heritage varieties and to better understand the ecology of urban apples. Combining the efforts of the campus community with the contributions of community members has allowed us to locate and measure more than 700 individual trees in the past four years, which are displayed in the interactive map showing locations and morphological measures of each tree. Harnessing this interest in local apple trees has allowed the project to provide educational opportunities to the community and undergraduates regarding the services that urban trees provide. Undergraduate computer science students built the interactive map to display tree locations and a mobile phone app designed for collecting and visualizing data in real time. These digital products will allow the broader population to engage in locally relevant research. This paper is a case study that focuses on curricular and extracurricular engagement of undergraduate students, application design, and the contributions of these efforts to the scientific community.

Highlights

The clock is ticking in Boulder County, Colorado as the Boulder Apple Tree Project (BATP) races to find the remnant apple (Malus sp.) trees of the previous century
We describe our efforts to support the above aims through three specific objectives, all actively involving undergraduate researchers: 1. We have mapped and gather data on historic apple trees throughout all known orchards regions within Boulder County
Community members were recruited via the website and mailing list, which was distributed by our contacts at Widespread Malus and Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks and via the CU Museum of Natural History calendar and the CU community calendar of events

Summary

Introduction

The clock is ticking in Boulder County, Colorado as the Boulder Apple Tree Project (BATP) races to find the remnant apple (Malus sp.) trees of the previous century. Many of the trees planted were varieties that are no longer in commercial orchards today. Most of these trees have been lost as agricultural properties were subdivided to create housing for the growing population of the county, leaving only a small portion of the once expansive orchards behind. Apple trees have a lifespan of 80 to 120 years, and we are at the end of that period for the trees that were initially counted. Preserving these once-abundant varieties in Boulder County and cultivating appreciation for their uniqueness requires exigency to find the trees before it is too late

Objectives

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Discussion

Conclusion