The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project: Washington, DC
Photos (left to right): Catholic University of America tree planting, Ward 8 Woods forest cleanup
The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) worked with local organizations to apply the U.S. Forest Service’s Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) protocol to survey and map ecological stewardship efforts in Washington, D.C. Key findings include: 95% of organizations work together with other groups to support environmental work; some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods are home to significant ecological stewardship activity; and generally speaking, organizations with higher capacities are working at wider scales across the city, and sometimes across the region, while organizations with lower capacities are working in more distinct, neighborhood-based sites.
Applying STEW-MAP with, and to, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. has adapted over time to meet the environmental challenges of a major metropolitan center. This research is the first comprehensive ecological stewardship mapping for the city and paired the U.S. Forest Service STEW-MAP methodology with local organizations engaged as both survey respondents and as research collaborators in scoping survey participants and reviewing survey language. The survey was tested internally, piloted to ensure accessibility, and distributed to organizations that focused their efforts in the city of Washington DC. including government agencies, non-profit organizations, and smaller, less formal community groups using personalized emails and follow-up emails and phone calls. Surveys were distributed March 2024 with responses received through July 2024 (response rate 50%). Data was cleaned, analyzed, and mapped; and results shared in a series of public meetings September 2024 – April 2025 (and forthcoming in a peer-reviewed paper). The DC STEW-MAP link and a summary of results will also be shared on the UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) website.
Photos (left to right): UDC Master Gardener Workshop, Citizens Forest Health Working Group forest patch tour
Results
D.C. STEW-MAP results are organized into four broad themes: organizational stewardship focus; organizational geographic focus; organizational structure and capacity; and inter-organizational networking. Though all organizations surveyed engage in stewardship, their specific focus varies: the three most common types of work undertaken by organizations are education, including curriculum, research, and training; managing or restoring the local environment; and advocating or planning for the environment. Much of reported stewardship work focuses on large geographical areas, including watersheds, forests/woodlands, and streams/ rivers/ canals; on lands with a variety of ownership, including government-owned; and spread throughout all eight of DC’s wards. Organizations range in age (with founding from 1789 to post-pandemic); structure, including 501(c)(3) organizations and government agencies; funding sources and budget capacity (including government funds, individual donations, endowment, fees, and foundations); and staff and volunteer support. The most common answer to “What would help you achieve this vision?” Is additional funding. The majority of survey participants (80%) list at least one nonprofit and government agency they collaborate with regularly; 19 organizations name a specific business or business organization they collaborate with regularly; and 27 of the responding organizations named at least one specific school or educational institution with which they partner, underscoring the interconnectedness of the D.C. ecological stewardship arena.
Sharing Results with the DC Community of Stewardship
Once the survey closed, results were analyzed, and the online map created, and a virtual meeting (September 11, 2024) was held to share findings with the DC community of ecological stewardship. All organizations that had been invited to participate in the survey were invited to attend the meeting where survey results were highlighted, and participants practiced accessing and interacting with the map and provided feedback on the study and on the map usability. Participants were excited to learn about the results, to interact with the map, and happy to see that they could use the map to visualize the city’s environmental data for the neighborhoods in which they worked. Additional presentations of this process and findings were shared at the DC Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency Knowledge Forum, January 25, 2025 (held at MLK Library, DC.); and the Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) Annual Conference, April 11, 2025 (hosted at UDC). A link to the map and summary results is expected to be published on the UDC CAUSES’ website.
Photos (left to right): Washington Interfaith Network testing, Shepherd Park Weed Warriors
People
The STEW-MAP community of practice including Lindsay Campbell, Research Social Scientist with the U.S. Forest Service and Nancy Sonti, Research Ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, who generously shared their experience and expertise with this research through its progression from concept to survey to analysis and product. Capital Nature, a D.C. nonprofit focused on connecting people with nature, supported this research with review of the survey questions and creating and then assisting outreach to the D.C. list of participants. Many Washington, D.C. organizations and agencies who engage in environmental stewardship participated in this research by completing the survey and attending public meetings to learn about the process and the results.
Collaborators
Elizabeth Gearin, Assistant Professor, Urban Sustainability, College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), UDC, and Amanda Huron, Professor, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), UDC, undertook the conceptualization, methodology, investigation, funding acquisition, project administration, and primary writing. Oskar Karos, BA Architecture Student, CAUSES, UDC completed the literature review. Taylor Furukawa, Program Evaluation and Assessment Specialist, CAUSES, UDC created the network analysis.
Resources
Shepherd Park Weed Warriors
Citizens Forest Health Working Group
