Tree Inventory Project

Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative (DCOI) at Duke University supported the City of Wilson’s efforts to plant and maintain trees through an innovative carbon offset model created by a partnership with North Carolina-based startup, Urban Offsets.

Urban Offsets matches schools with cities like Wilson, located 40-miles east of Raleigh, and provides them with services and software needed to scale local investments with proper monitoring and reporting. Duke students and faculty will also have access to the data gathered by Urban Offsets’ project in Wilson to integrate into research projects on community health and sustainability.

With this program the City of Wilson planted 50 trees – 20 Overcup Oak, 10 Maple Trees, 10 Pignut Hickory, 10 Tupelo – throughout Rest Haven Cemetery, Maplewood Cemetery, and the Educational Forest. Wilson pledged to take care of these trees for four years.

In an effort to improve shade and air quality, expand wildlife habitat, and reduce stormwater and noise, cities have experimented with different approaches to tree programs. But, despite their many benefits, proper urban forestry has continued to provide only intangible benefits. Simply put, trees have been viewed as a drain on city budgets–until now. Wilson is the first city in the U.S. to generate carbon offsets from urban trees, and the first to transform those trees into financial assets.

You can read more about the Urban Offsets initiative in the Triad Business Journal.

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