- Title: Trees of FIU
- Principal Investigator: Alan Franck
- Funding Amount: $12,524
- Funding Source: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Timeline: 04/24/19–03/21/20
Urban forests are incredibly economically valuable, with generally positive impacts to human health, soil stability, stormwater reduction, storm surge reduction, wind mitigation, carbon sequestration, cooling costs, property value, wildlife habitat, and education.
Since FIU held its first classes in 1972, it has been planting trees across the campus, much of it catalyzed by the work of Charles M. Henington, the first supervisor of grounds. The MMC campus now is home to nearly 10,000 trees, including a forest of native tree species at the FIU Nature Preserve. Our goal is to inventory all trees on the FIU campuses to understand the species diversity and their value to humans and the environment.