WNC Sierra Club Monthly Meeting - June 3 - The Environmental Benefits of Urban Forests

April 28, 2026
  • When: Wednesday, June 3 at 7 p.m.
  • Where: Reuter Center of UNCA, 300 Campus View Dr, Asheville, Room 102 or online via Zoom.

Join us June 3 as we discuss the importance of urban forests. Urban forests have long been significantly undervalued and overlooked in development planning when it comes to the ecosystem services they provide. This presentation will highlight several major benefits of urban forests, such as carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation, reducing the urban heat island effect and energy costs, enhancing mental well-being, decreasing runoff with better stormwater management, and raising home values and incomes.

We will review current statistics that estimate the worth of these advantages and analyze the consequences of losing urban forests due to development. Additionally, we'll examine the ecological significance of urban forests, along with the challenges and opportunities associated with these habitats.

Dr. David Clarke is a botanist and professor of biology at UNC-Asheville. After earning a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, he started his position at UNCA in 2000 and has been teaching botany courses and performing botanical research ever since.

Mary Schultz has a Masters in Biology and has taught undergraduate courses in Biology and Environmental Science at UNCA, Warren Wilson College, and Western Carolina University. Her education and teaching experience include Botany, Plant Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, and Climate Ecology. She currently teaches Biology and Environmental Science at Mars Hill University.

The WNC Sierra Club meets monthly in Room 102 at UNCA’s Reuter Center on Campus Drive and simultaneously on Zoom. For more information, contact WNC Sierra Club Chair Judy Mattox at judymattox15@gmail.com.

Parking at UNC Asheville: If you do not have a parking sticker from OLLI, you'll need to register for parking either ahead of time at unca.aimsparking.com or at the Reuter Center on the night of the meeting. The latest information about fees and requirements can be found at that link. There are no visitor fees after 5 p.m.