Tom Ogren
Urban pollen and the public perception of trees: Creating People-friendly city landscapes
Abstract
Both allergy and asthma continue to increase. Pollen allergy is now considered epidemic. It is getting worse every year.
Climate change and increases in carbon dioxide are making the pollen season longer, and much more intense.
Urban air pollution combines with airborne pollen, causing the grains to fracture. Particulates of pollen are extra allergenic, and because they’re so much smaller, they can be inhaled much deeper into the chest. This results in asthma.
We who plant and tend to city trees owe it to the citizens of our cities to be knowledgeable about tree/allergy issues. We need to know which trees to plant, and which to avoid. We need to know how to effectively prune city trees to limit pollen exposure. We also need to understand cultural methods that will limit pollen production.
All of this will be covered in my talk.
Biography
Tom Ogren, also publishes under the name Thomas Leo Ogren. He has studied and researched the connections between urban pollen production, city trees, and allergy for some thirty years.
Tom is a former nursery owner, landscaper, and horticulture teacher. He has an MS degree in horticulture and taught for 20 years. Tom is the author of three published books on the subject, and hundreds of papers. He has written for the New York Times, Scientific American, the New Scientist, Earth Island Journal, and others. He consults with the USDA urban forestry, the California Department of Public Health, and cities.
He has given successful, informative and energetic talks in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Canada, the US, and Israel.