Extension Agents’ Perceptions, Practices, and Needs of Urban Forestry: A Case Study from Tennessee, United States

Yujuan Chen (), Young De’Etra, Jason de Koff and Kofi Britwum
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Yujuan Chen: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
Young De’Etra: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
Jason de Koff: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
Kofi Britwum: Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Urban forests are essential green infrastructure for sustainable cities. However, existing studies are mainly focused on the general public’s perception and needs of urban forestry, and little is known about non-traditional educators like extension agents. To address this gap, the main objective of this study is to explore extension agents’ perceptions, practices, and future training needs. Specifically, a statewide online survey consisting of 33 questions was designed and disseminated to extension agents in Tennessee via email with 64 responses. We found that the majority of respondents valued urban forestry, with 68.9% of them believing that urban forests are very important, especially for providing shade, cooling, energy saving, aesthetic values/beautification, increasing property values, and wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Their main clientele includes homeowners, farmers, and landowners, and 63.3% of extension agents reported that they have received urban forestry-related requests. However, less than half of them are comfortable addressing these requests, and over 50% of them reported that they are slightly or not knowledgeable about urban forestry. Additionally, the interest in urban forestry is high, with 98.3% of respondents having some level of interest in urban forestry. This demonstrates great potential for urban forestry education, extension, and training in the region.

Keywords: communications; COVID-19; education; extension; knowledge and interest; training needs; urban forest benefits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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