Trees beautify the New England landscape, define the seasons and enhance both urban and rural scenery. In addition, they provide wildlife habitat, and many ecosystem services including mitigation of air and water pollution. However, trees are the greatest threat to utility infrastructure during a storm, causing nearly 90% of power outages.

Eversource and UConn are partnering up with communities to work on developing programs for maintaining healthy trees and woodlands in proximity to power lines. These programs will benefit local landowners and residents that need reliable power for their homes, businesses, town activities and community events.

Not everyone in a community can be expected to understand the needs of everyone else. When it comes to roadside tree and forest management, there is a large and diverse crowd of stakeholders and this partnership opens dialogue opportunities and enhances understanding of preferences for tree and forest management in urban, suburban and rural communities across Connecticut.

Social scientists at UConn, specializing in natural resource management, are running several research projects aimed at understanding the attitudes about the management of roadside trees and forests, about storms, and about the reliability of electrical power. They are also looking at opportunities for education to foster understanding of the different issues faced by land managers, residents and utilities. Input and buy-in from the community will be vital to any action plan. With input and greater understanding from all sides, it will be possible to manage roadside trees and forests for aesthetic qualities and ecological benefits as well as for public safety and reliability of electric power.

‘Human dimensions of natural resources’ is a social science focused on understanding why people make the decisions they do about natural resources, such as trees, water, and wildlife. It also explores the characteristics that influence those decisions, such as psychological variables, social, cultural, and environmental influences, motivations for and satisfaction with experiences, and sociodemographics. Risk perception is a personal intuitive judgement as opposed to a technical or scientific assessment about risk.  People tend to take a cautious approach toward risks that are likely to involve gain, but gamble toward risks that are likely to involve loss. In the context of this research, values are defined as guiding ethical and moral principles that people use when making decisions. Although values are influenced by an individual’s natural, social, and cultural environment, recent research suggests that certain values are embraced cross-culturally around the globe. Examples include tradition (respect and commitment to customs and ideas), self-direction (independent thought and action), and benevolence (interest in the welfare of people). Reference: Strutch, N., S.H. Schwartz, and W.A. van der Kloot. 2002. Meanings of basic values for women and men: a cross-cultural analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28:16-28.