What Makes a Big Tree Special? Insights from the Chicagoland Treemendous Trees Program

Abstract

In 1995, a local version of the American Forests big trees program (Treemendous Trees) was initiated in the Chicago area by Openlands Project and the Morton Arboretum. In addition to the numerical information about tree sizes required on the nomination form, many participants attached notes and sometimes lengthy letters that detailed various aspects of the nominated trees. A qualitative analysis of these written materials identified a number of recurrent themes that sometimes went far beyond the physical size dimensions to describe aesthetic and functional values, and symbolic and emotional meanings. This information may help urban foresters better understand the breadth and depth of values people have for urban trees—particularly large ones. Results also have implications for obtaining more and better information from big tree programs, and for using these programs as vehicles for developing collaborative partnerships between urban foresters and citizens in knowledge discovery and sharing.