Colophon. Who Built This, and Why About

Why I built this

I live in Saint Paul, and on family walks my kids would always ask me questions I couldn’t answer about the trees along our route:

• “What kind of tree is that?”
• “Why is that one huuuge and that one sooo small?”
• “When did this get planted?”
• “Is that one sick?”

I did some research, read some books, took some pictures, but the data nerd in me wanted a whole-city picture of these trees. Being greedy, I wanted it all on my phone, where I could learn about our urban forest while we explored our neighborhoods.

I went looking for maps and public datasets on these trees, but everything was presented in a complex data platform or abruptly ended at a city boundary. I dreamed of a metro-wide map focused on the average curious neighbor who loves our city trees the same way I do. So I gathered datasets from Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and some surrounding cities and stitched them into one. This took some work since one city’s “Sugar Maple” is another city’s “Acer saccharum.” Once they all spoke the same language I was finally able to build the map I’d been dreaming of.

Use the map and species index to answer my kids’ questions and your own. Explore the condition, age, and species data for every tree, and see citywide trends in our canopy.

I hope you will see your own neck of the woods in this map. Our public forest belongs to our entire community of homeowners, renters, unhoused citizens, visitors, and sure … those pesky squirrels. This map is a way for all of us to meet the trees we live among.

Our map is growing and doesn’t yet include every public tree (boulevard and park) in the metro. I don’t currently plan on indexing any trees on private property, but I’m working to add more inventory to the map soon. You can dig into the details of the data on the sources page. I hope the data page also makes clear how much of this work stands on the shoulders of the researchers, volunteers, and forestry staff of our local cities, who have contributed to the data that powers this map. This index wouldn’t be possible without their efforts.

About me

I’m Bryan Kennedy. When I’m not wandering around looking at trees, I use technology to build experiences that spark curiosity about science. I’ve created nationally touring museum exhibits, award-winning websites, and interactive data visualizations.

My current focus is helping nonprofits and mission-driven organizations with AI, data, and the systems that hold them together. And when I need to answer my own questions, I still write code. This site is my latest example.

Want this for your city?

The map draws whatever public tree inventory a city keeps, and the goal is the whole metro. If you work in forestry, parks, or community engagement for a city and want your residents to see their trees this way, write to [email protected]. If your city’s inventory is already public, the coverage list shows whether it’s on the map yet.