Join us for our first International #MembersHour on 30 May from 14:30 – 15:30 led by Chartered Forester and Woodland Officer at the Forestry Commission, Pherenice Worsey-Buck MICFor.
This session will discuss the latest projects and research from the 2nd World Forum on Urban Forests, with two guest speakers:
- Dr Rachel Keith from the Green Heart Louisville project will present on the emerging field of environmental cardiology and the impact of better air quality on heart disease through urban greening.
- Dr Oleksandra Khalaim will share her powerful story of coordinating an i-Tree ECO survey in Ukraine whilst under Russian invasion, and how communities care about their trees in times of war.
About the Speakers
Pherenice Worsey-Buck MICFor – Woodland Officer, Forestry Commission
Pherenice works for the Forestry Commission as a Woodland Officer across 32 London Boroughs and the City. During her 25 years as an urban forester, she has worked with multiple stakeholders to develop tree and woodland strategies, manage woodlands, set up community forestry groups and tree planting programmes. She is passionate about creating greener, more resilient, and healthier cities where the benefits of trees and quality green spaces are universally available to all communities.
Dr Rachel Keith – Associate Professor of Medicine, Nurse Practitioner, and the Director of Human Study Services with the Envirome Institute, University of Louisville
Rachel is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Nurse Practitioner, and the Director of Human Study Services with the Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville. Her research program combines her diverse skill set in basic sciences, community participatory research, regulatory science, environmental exposures, and clinical studies focusing on how environmental exposures impact health outcomes. She is the Clinical lead for the HEAL study part of Green Heart Louisville, a multidisciplinary project exploring the intersections of the built environment, pollution exposure and a first of its kind trees intervention on health and environmental outcomes.
Dr Oleksandra Kaleim – Researcher, SWEDESD
Oleksandra has a PhD in Ecology and Environmental Sciences and is a researcher and university teacher in the field of Environmental Sciences and Sustainable Development in Ukraine and Sweden. Her current research interests include climate change adaptation and management of urban green areas, climate change education, and transformative learning methods in education for sustainable development. For the last seven years, Oleksandra has been conducting a research line on ecosystem services of urban trees under heat waves. She started in 2016 as National Geographic Society awardee; her team was performing a thermal mapping of Kyiv green zones on different scales. Since 2021, she has been coordinating the project ‘Transparent and participatory green space inventory system in Ukraine: iTree4UA’ that works with local communities all over Ukraine. It is a powerful story of how communities care about their trees in times of the war. Since September 2019, she has worked at SWEDESD, the research and learning center for sustainable development and global health at Uppsala University.
