The Yale Forest Forum is excited to announce their spring 2021 speaker series, which will focus on community-based forestry. This week’s speaker is Erika Svendsen, who is the team leader at the NYC Urban Field Station of the U.S. Forest Service. The NYC Urban Field Station is a space to conduct research, cultivate ideas, and foster collaboration among scientists and practitioners focused on urban ecological and social issues. Erika recently co-authored a book on Civic Engagement and Environmental Stewardship: How Planting Trees Strengthens the Roots of Democracy. She is a recipient of EDRA/Places Award for Living Memorials National Research: 9-11 and the Public Landscape. She has received the Forest Service Chief’s Award for engaging urban America and an Early Career Scientist Station Award recognizing her co-development of STEW-Map, a tool for mapping the turf, networks and characteristics of civic stewardship groups to measure their impact on shaping the environment and community life. She has served on the Steering Committee for MillionTreesNYC, as an advisor to the Vibrant Cities Urban Forests National Task Force and a member of the Department of Interior’s Strategic Sciences Group on Hurricane Sandy. Erika is a graduate of the Yale School of the Environment and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.