Tree Inventory and Urban Forestry

We are involved in a project to map the locations and characteristics of trees as part of the Sun Valley Community Forestry Program. This program, conceived by the Treepeople organization, is aimed at improving the physical environment in the Sun Valley/Burbank area through an extensive tree planting and maintenance effort. We became involved in this community project when approached by Treepeople, who were looking both for guidance in using GIS, and for geography students who might assist with project design and volunteer training. The first phase of this project is the design and execution of a program to inventory the trees. I am working with Anna Huber, a student in the geography department, to formulate the methodology and design the database which will be used in this inventory.

© 2005, Anna Huber

Flooding and Hydrologic Modeling

We are carrying out research on the surface water runoff in Sun Valley. This work is tied to a plan by the Los Angeles Department of Public Works to mitigate flooding problems in the area by a multiphase project which is beginning with the installation of an infiltration basin in Sun Valley Park. Graduate students, Mike Antos and Tim Garner, have installed a weather station on the roof of the Sun Valley Recreation Center, which will be used to monitor rainfall in the area. Together with Anna Huber, we are constructing a drainage model for the Los Angeles basin which will be used to carry out hydrologic modeling using GIS. This will enable us to investigate important issues such as flooding, aquifer replenishment, chemical runoff and water wastage.