Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities
Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities (HTHC) is an urban tree health monitoring initiative led by the USDA Forest Service.
Watch this short video to see how HTHC helps communities care for their trees!
Keeping America’s Community Trees Alive with Powerful Tools
Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities (HTHC) is a national tree health monitoring initiative created by the USDA Forest Service to support researchers, forestry managers, and community ecologists in caring for community trees and forests.
Through innovative tools like the HTHC mobile app and the web-based dashboard, tree stewards can easily monitor tree health, identify stressors, and prioritize care. The data collected provides powerful insights with both local and national impacts:
Locally, managers and volunteers use the data to address stressed trees and improve community green spaces.
Nationally, USDA Forest Service researchers analyze trends, study the effects of community environments on trees, and explore how healthy trees benefit the public.
Would you like to:
Create an inventory of newly planted or existing trees in your neighborhood?
Learn how to assess the health of your trees?
Record stewardship activities (watering, pruning etc.) as you care for your trees?
Learn how to detect insects and diseases affecting your trees?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then the HTHC app and dashboard is for you.
Key Features of HTHC:
Field Tool (phone app): A user-friendly mobile app for on-the-ground data collection. Inventory new or existing trees in your neighborhood. A great way to create a map showing where your trees are, what kind of trees you have and how big they are.
Dashboard (on your computer): An interactive web-based tool that gives you control over your data. You can:
Find a project to join.
Create and manage projects.
View a map of your trees.
Add project members.
Download data for the trees in your project.
Together the app and dashboard allows you to collect data on the trees in your neighborhood, see a map of your trees, and view information of individual trees in your project.
The field tool allows you to collect tree data, while the dashboard allows you to manage your data and associated projects. Both include access to maps, tables, and training and tree care resources.
Below, we offer a brief overview of some of the field tool and dashboard features, but logging into each and going to the Resources tab offers additional guides and resources.
With the Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities field tool, you can do the following activities on your phone or tablet:
- Add a tree
- With the field tool, you can add a tree using a combination of your phone or tablet’s GPS and online maps.
- Track tree care
- For each tree you add or adopt, you can record what tree care activities you conduct.
- Assess tree health
- Using a systematic rubric, you can measure the tree health of the tree’s crown (branches and leaves).
- Record pests and pathogens
- You can use the field tool to record pest detection signs, like damaged fruit or insects’ exit holes.
- To get started with the field tool, use this guide to install the tool as an app on your phone or tablet.
- Manage your project (Dashboard)
From any device, you can access your data. Using the dashboard is easiest with a computer, though. Below are some of the many ways you can manage the data you collect:- Create project
- You can create a project in the field tool or in the dashboard. A project is where you can set a boundary for where your project occurs, add trees and team members, and edit recorded data.
- Add users to team
- Whomever creates a project becomes the Project Manager, who can then invite others to be part of the project team.
- Access data
- Tree data are viewable on maps, as tables, and can be downloaded as spreadsheets with latitude and longitude columns.
- Assess data quality
- To ensure everyone is collecting tree health assessments in a consistent manner, you can use a quality control process to assess data quality and then revisit training as needed.
To get started with the dashboard, go to the website, create an account, and explore your dashboard, or use this guide to help navigate the dashboard.
- Create project