Overview

This action guide is designed to help you promote human health and climate benefits of urban forests in your community while minimizing risks from climate change, such as sea level rise and more frequent and extreme weather events. It outlines a process for you to create an urban forestry project to optimize for climate and health outcomes. The guide will help you reduce climate risks and proactively respond to changing conditions while also providing important benefits to the health and well-being of your community.

The process is based on the five-step Adaptation Workbook, developed by the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS). The Adaptation Workbook provides a structured, yet flexible approach for integrating climate change into urban forestry projects, and this guide takes you one step further by integrating human health. You can use the complete Adaptation Workbook to take a deeper dive into creating a complete climate change adaptation plan.

Audience

• Urban foresters, landscape architects, public health professionals, adaptation planners