# Shade Tree Succession Planner ## The Problem Urban tree canopies across American cities are declining faster than replacement plantings can keep up—a single mature tree takes 20-30 years to provide meaningful shade, but can be lost in a single storm or to disease in days. When street trees die, neighborhoods lose cooling shade (up to 10°F difference on hot days), property values dip, and stormwater management suffers. Residents watch gaps appear in their block's canopy with no clear way to advocate for replacements or coordinate with city forestry departments that are perpetually understaffed and backlogged. ## Who Uses It **Block Captains & Neighborhood Association Leaders** — Already organizing their streets, they need a tool to document tree conditions and make data-backed requests to city forestry departments. **Concerned Homeowners** — Notice the big oak on the corner is dying, want to flag it before it becomes a hazard, and advocate for a replacement. **Local Nursery Owners** — Want to support their community with free sapling programs but have no way to connect with organized demand. **City Forestry Staff** — Overwhelmed with requests, would benefit from prioritized, community-validated planting lists with photos and location data. **Climate-Conscious Residents** — Looking for tangible local action; planting trees is one of the most accessible forms of climate adaptation. ## Core Features 1. **Tree Status Logger** — Any neighbor can drop a pin on a map and log a street tree as "healthy," "stressed," "dying," "dead," or "stump/removed." Each entry includes a photo, optional notes (e.g., "losing bark, possibly emerald ash borer"), and automatic timestamp. No account required for viewing; simple email verification to submit. 2. **Priority Planting Nominations** — Residents can nominate empty tree wells, vacant curb strips, or gaps in canopy coverage as planting sites. Each nomination includes a photo of the location, sun exposure estimate, and why it matters (e.g., "bus stop with no shade, seniors wait here"). 3. **Neighborhood Voting & Endorsements** — Logged-in neighbors can upvote priority planting sites. The system generates a "community priority score" combining votes, proximity to vulnerable populations (schools, senior centers, bus stops), and size of existing canopy gap. 4. **Free Sapling Finder** — Surfaces local nurseries offering free or discounted trees through city programs, Earth Day giveaways, or community partnerships. Pulls from WellSpr.ing's business and free items data so residents can see "Oak seedlings available at Martinez Nursery through April 15." 5. **City Program Connector** — Displays relevant civic tree-planting programs, forestry department contacts, and application deadlines. Generates a downloadable one-pager summarizing community priorities that block captains can email to officials. 6. **Canopy Health Dashboard** — Simple neighborhood-level view showing: total trees logged, status breakdown (healthy/stressed/dying/removed), planting nominations pending, and trend over time. Exportable as PDF for city council presentations. 7. **Ody Guidance Chat** — Residents can ask questions like "What trees grow well in zone 7b?" or "How do I report a hazardous tree in Philadelphia?" and get contextual civic guidance powered by WellSpr.ing's Ody assistant. ## WellSpr.ing Integration Points ### MCP Tools (POST https://wellspr.ing/mcp — JSON-RPC 2.0) | Tool | Usage | |------|-------| | `get_businesses` | Find local nurseries, garden centers, and landscaping companies that might offer sapling programs | | `get_free_items` | Surface free tree seedlings, mulch, or gardening supplies currently available in the area | | `search_civic_services` | Locate city forestry departments, tree-planting programs, and permit requirements | | `get_city_services` | Pull structured data on municipal tree services, removal request processes, and planting applications | | `get_civic_ideas` | Check if other neighbors have submitted tree-related civic improvement ideas to cross-reference | | `submit_business` | Allow nurseries to self-register their sapling giveaway programs | | `ask_ody` | Power the guidance chat for tree care questions, species recommendations, and civic process navigation | | `get_business_detail` | Show full details when a user clicks on a nursery offering free saplings | | `reach_number` | Display contact info for nurseries and civic offices (respecting privacy layers) | ### REST Endpoints | Endpoint | Usage | |----------|-------| | `GET /api/officials` | Show relevant elected officials (city council members) for "email your representative" feature in priority reports | | `GET /api/geo/portals?area_code=NNN` | Determine which civic data portal serves the user's location for accurate city service links | ### WCIB Endpoints | Endpoint | Usage | |----------|-------| | `POST /api/wcib/ody-ask` | Alternative Ody integration for tree-specific Q&A within the app | ### Future: Covenant Commerce (Roadmap — not yet live) When WellSpr.ing's merchant registration and payment rails go live, nurseries could offer "sponsor a sapling" where neighbors fund plantings directly. Label this in the UI as "Coming Soon" rather than building dead features. ## Data Model ### `trees` | Field | Type | Notes | |-------|------|-------| | id | uuid | Primary key | | location | point | Lat/lng of tree | | address_text | string | Human-readable location | | status | enum | healthy, stressed, dying, dead, removed | | photo_url | string | Uploaded image | | notes | text | Optional observations | | reported_by | string | Email (hashed for privacy) | | created_at | timestamp | | | updated_at | timestamp | Last status change | ### `planting_sites` | Field | Type | Notes | |-------|------|-------| | id | uuid | Primary key | | location | point | Lat/lng | | address_text | string | | | site_type | enum | empty_well, curb_strip, yard_adjacent, park_edge | | sun_exposure | enum | full, partial, shade | | reason | text | Why this spot matters | | photo_url | string | | | nominated_by | string | Email (hashed) | | priority_score | integer | Calculated from votes + factors | | created_at | timestamp | | ### `votes` | Field | Type | Notes | |-------|------|-------| | id | uuid | | | planting_site_id | uuid | FK to planting_sites | | voter_hash | string | Hashed email to prevent duplicates | | created_at | timestamp | | ### `sapling_sources` | Field | Type | Notes | |-------|------|-------| | id | uuid | | | wellspring_business_id | string | Links to WellSpr.ing business data | | program_name | string | E.g., "Spring Sapling Giveaway" | | species_available | text[] | Array of tree species | | available_until | date | | | cached_at | timestamp | When we last pulled from WellSpr.ing | ## Vibe Coding Prompt to Get Started ``` Build a "Shade Tree Succession Planner" web app using React + Express on Replit with a SQLite database (upgrade to Postgres later). FIRST MILESTONE: Tree Status Logger - Full-screen map (use Leaflet with