Tree Planting Project Rationale and Description
The title of the project is “Tree planting in a university”. It will entail the planting of two thousand trees in a university compound. The student body will generate funds for the project. Thereafter, the university administration will provide space for the planting of trees. It will start with the plantation of seedlings, and then a transplantation ceremony will follow. Five staff members will take care of the seedlings as well as the trees that will grow from them. They will be responsible for the daily maintenance of the seedlings. Students will own the trees; this will introduce a long-term perspective into the equation through frequent monitoring by the students who planted the seedlings.
The rationale behind this project is to preserve the university environment. The institution is facing the danger of erosion; consequently, something must be done to prevent this occurrence. Additionally, the university is a vital part if its community. As a result, the roads, buildings and economic activities that go on in this community are geared towards serving campus residents. It is the responsibility of the members of this university to give back to their community by adding a natural element to the urban settings in their area. Trees are the best option for this body because they will bring pride to the university town. They will improve the aesthetics in the area as they will frame the landscapes. Additionally, they will minimise noise pollution; environmental agencies acknowledge the role of trees as sound absorbers. The institution will also become a better place for studying because it will possess less heat intensity after sunlight deflections by the trees. This project will provide a great ecological value to the university because it will nurture various organisms on the trees, and will even minimise the existence of green house gases in this environment. Therefore, the advantages of this project will not be felt immediately, and may not necessarily be monetary. The university should implement this project as a part of its social responsibility rather than as a corporate strategy. Nonetheless, some of the trees can be used for commercial ventures such as timber sales. However, this will take place after some years.
Project Selection Model
The project selection model is a non numerical one kwown as the comparative benefit model through Q-sort rankings. This method is the most appropriate because the projects under consideration are difficult to quantify monetarily ( Wysocki, 2000). Their value is derived from their social benefits rather than their economic ones. Besides, there is no precise way of measuring the numerical advantages of environmental initiatives.
The university has a variety of options to choose from with regard to the environmental conservation. These options fall under three categories: good, fair and poor. One of the ‘good’ projects is increasing energy efficiency through forestry, minimisation of greenhouse gases in landfills. The latter approach centres on reducing carbon emissions while the former one (forestry) deals with reversal of carbon emission. Reversal is preferable to reduction. In the ‘fair’ category, the institution can fund a renewable energy project such as a hydroelectric dam, wind farms or biomass energy. However, these initiatives all require extra funding and the budgetary constraints will not allow pursuance of the same. Additionally, such projects would not generate as much sentimental value as forestry projects. This would minimise the students’ commitment and involvement in them. Alternatively, the university may purchase carbon credits. This would fall under the ‘poor’ category. Since the institution is more concerned with the positive effects of environmental compliance on the community rather than the effects of non compliance as stipulated by the government, then this project would not be very appropriate. (Refer to the appendix for a diagrammatic representation of the decision tree). The forestry project has the greatest ranking and should, therefore, be taken on.
Objectives and the Work Breakdown
The project objectives include: reversal of soil erosion that is already occurring in the area, reducing the amount of green house gases that the university has produced in the area and improving air quality in the institution’s environment. The projects effects may be felt a decade after initiation as trees take some time before they mature.
The project scope starts from financial commitment from stakeholders, then site surveillance, elimination of pollutants and site preparation. Seedling plantation will be the next course of action; care for the seedlings will follow. Afterwards, the university tree planting ceremony will commence and then care of the trees will follow.
The work breakdown structure will involve four major components: preparation, seedling care, tree planting and tree care. Under ‘preparation’, fund solicitation will be done by the university administration. They will talk to students about the project and include contributions to the project as a part of their tuition fees. Site selection and preparation will also be a crucial component of this component. This will involve an analysis of the social characteristics of the chosen areas for ph, particulate matter and soil type. The project team must ensure that it matches the right soil type with the right seedlings and trees. Thereafter, the team will perform site clearance by removal of all the vegetative cover in the soil. Some of these plants include shrubs, grasses and herbs. The workers may also have to remove pollutants, stones or rocks that exist in the site.
The other level in the work breakdown structure is seedling care. This will involve vendor selection of seedlings. An analysis of their costs and seedling types will be done in order to choose the best vendor. The team will match the soli type with the appropriate seedlings in this section. Seedling care will also involve nurturing the seedlings by first transplanting them from the vendor’s nursery, shading them, watering them and controlling nutrients through fertilisers. Thereafter, the tree planting ceremony will take place; it will be a one day event in which students (under the guidance of the project team) transplant the seedlings into the ground. This will be followed by tree care, which will entail herbicide application, hand pulling of weeds, watering and grass cutting. (Refer to the appendix for the work breakdown structure).
Tree Planting Cost Estimates & Resources
Site analysis will cost $200 owing to the fact that university volunteers will carry out most of the analysis. The agriculture department will supply the project team with the resources and labour needed to analyse the soil. Mechanical preparation of the site will entail renting ploughing and harrowing equipment; this will cost $ 450. The purchase of chemical herbicides will account for $ 120. The purchase of equipments needed to water and shade the seedlings will be $100. Seedling purchases will be the last purchase and they will account for the remainder of the budget. In other words, they will cost $1780. Tree care will still be done through the use of the chemicals purchased for the seedlings. Other care needs, such as watering, will still employ the same equipments that had been bought (Kerzner, 1999).
Time Schedule for Project Activities
The following are the project activities and their duration:
Fund solicitation-30 days, Site selection-12 days, Site analysis-15 days, Mechanical removal of weeds-20days, Herbicide control-10 days, Manual removal of pollutants-5 days, Fertiliser application-3 days, Vendor selection-30 days, Soil matching-11 days, Seedling shading-10days, Seedling transplanting-20 days, Watering of seedlings-180 days, Tree planting ceremony- 1 day, Watering of trees- 365 days, Hand pulling weeds – 50 days, Herbicide application- 20 days, Cutting grass and shrubs- 30 days. (Refer to the appendix for the critical path and Gantt chart).
In order to determine the critical path, an iteration of the 17 activities will be necessary. Assuming that all the above activities are represented by letter A, B, C through to Q in the order in which they appear, then their vertices will be represented as such. The rules are C must follow A, D must follow C, E must follow D, F must follow E, G must follow F, H must follow A, I must follow C, J must follow H, K must follow J, L must follow K, M must follow L, N must follow M, O must N, P must follow N and Q must follow O. If a list of A to Q is constructed to represent the original vertices and another list of A to Q is constructed alongside it to represent the shadow vertices, then an arc is used to joined the original vertices that must follow the shadow vertices such as C-A or H –A, then some original vertices will not have an arc leading to another. In this case, A and B will not have an arc attached to their original vertices. Once these original vertices (and their shadows) are removed and the new vertices joined to the existing ones, then a new set of original vertices are left unattached to an arc. This process creates C and H as the unattached ones. The next iteration leads to the creation of D, I and J. The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh iterations create E & K, F & L, G & M, N, O &P and finally Q as the iterations respectively. Consequently, the network will be as follows:
(A, B) then (H, C) then (J, D, I) then (K, E) then (L, F) then (M, G) then N then (O, P) and finally Q. (These arrangement can be seen in the network diagram below. In order to calculate the critical path, one must consider the duration of each activity:
The least completion time is as follows: Activity H can only be completed after performing A which lasts for 30 days. The earliest start time needed to perform the task is 30. Similarly J cannot start without performing H; therefore, its earliest start time is a sum of 30+30 from A and H, i.e. 60 days. The earliest start time for K is 70, which is a sum of H’s and J’s start time (60+10) 70, L is 90 (70+20), and M is 270 (90+180), N is 271 (270+1). Even though the M and G must be completed to start N, one considers the longest time, which is M. The earliest start time for O is 365+271=636, Q is 636+50=686. It should be noted that Q requires the completion of Both O and P; since O takes longer, then it was given greater precedence. Since Q is the last activity, the earliest completion time if 686+50=736. It should be noted that the earliest start time for B is 0, C is 30 and D is 48 and E is 68, F is 78, I is 45 and G is 83.
To complete the network, one must work backwards to find the longest start time (Kerzner, 2000). For Q, this amounts to 736-50=686, O has 686-50=636, N has 2 options; it can either be 636-365=271 or P-365; where P=686-20=666. Therefore, N can also be 666-365=301. 271 will be selected. M is equal to 271-1=270, G=N-3=271-3=268, L is 90, K is 70, J is 60, H is 30, A 188, F is 263, E is 253, I is 242, D is 233, C has two options (233-15=218) or (242-15=227), so 218 will be chosen. B is 206.
The following are the fractions of the least and longest start times. The least are part of the upper fraction while the longest start times are below: A=0/188, B=0/206, C=30/218, D=48/233, E=68/253, F=78/263, G=83/268, H=60/30, I=45/ 242, J=60/60,K=70/70,L=90/90,M=270/270,N=271/271,O=636/636,P=,Q=686/686. Therefore, the critical path consists of those tasks which have consistent values for short and long durations. These are J, K, L, M, N and Q. The slack will be the difference between the longest and earliest start time which in this case amounts to 546 days.
How to Shorten the Project Time by Twenty Percent
In order to minimise the time by twenty percent, it will be imperative to work on the dependencies so that the tasks can commence at an earlier date (Graham & Englund, 1997). For instance, the seedlings bought could be just slightly short of becoming real trees. This will reduce the amount of time needed to care for them. Additionally, more resources could be dedicated towards the preliminary phase of the project which involves manual removal of pollutants, herbicide control and fertiliser application. Since these activities cannot occur without one another, then the faster they are done, the more likely the project is to succeed.
A Quality Management System and a Quality Control System
The quality management system under consideration will be instated in order to ascertain that the project objectives are implemented. First, an analysis of the seedling planting process will be done such that workers can ensure that they do not ruin the roots or other delicate parts of the seedlings. An analysis of the condition of the seedlings must be done for damage analysis or other potential sources of failure. During the planting process, the team will ensure quality control through an analysis of the depth of seedlings and tree plantation. It will also check on the handling of the plants in the tree planting ceremony. Students will be closely monitored and instructed on this process. As the seedlings continue to grow, the employees will check on various elements of the tree to ascertain that they are healthy.
The trunk will be one of the most crucial aspects. Here, the team will check for signs of fungal cancers or discoloration. The trunks ought not to have swollen or sunken barks. If the seedlings have buds, then these must seem well-coloured and moisturised. Brittle twigs will be an indication to the project team that something is wrong with the seedling caring process. In the nursery, the project team will ensure that the roots are not too covered-up by mechanical cultivators. Generally, the quality control system will centre on the nursery because this is the most delicate component of a tree-planting exercise. If the employees get it worn, then chances are that the seedlings will not grow to become healthy trees; the whole project will be ruined.
The project team will continue with data collection in order to check on soil attributes. Towards the end of the project, some of the soil characteristics should have changed dramatically owing to the trees. Additionally, the quality control in the ecology of the forested area will be analysed in order to ensure that the trees support certain plant and animal species.
Steps and Activities for Ensuring Superior Performance
Since this project is dealing with a very delicate activity, then timing must be accurate. The team will ensure project success through selection of the right season. It is always good to plant trees during the cool weather. Therefore, the commencement date of the project will be done in such a way that the seedling transplanting day will fall during such weather. Since this lasts for a period of about three months, then it will be relatively easy to time the transplanting appropriately. Additionally, superior project performance will be ascertained by educating the participants about the importance of this project. Everyone will take the time to select the right seedlings.
A thorough analysis of the site will also ascertain that the employees select the right seedlings for planting. They will have planting targets prior to the purchase of the seedlings so that they can do it in an organized way. The workers will use a number of strategies to ensure that they plant the seedlings at a fast and accurate rate. One of the workers will be in charge of transporting the seedlings from the delivering vehicle to the actual nursery. The others will stand strategically in their own spots. Each person will hold six trays in their lots and they will all move at the same rate so as to increase efficiency. The workers will also use planters and other equipment that are thoroughly checked so as to minimise excessive heaviness and discomfort. This could minimise their ability to concentrate on the tasks at hand.
Tree Planting Project Monitoring System
The monitoring system will consist of a series of processes. First, everyone will give consistent feedback on project deliverables. The project team will compare their activities against the intended outcomes. For instance, by the forty-seventh day, the team should have completed site analysis, or fertiliser application should have started by the eighty fifth day. The team needs to look at what they have done and give feedback on whether they are meeting these deliverables. Besides having constant feedback, the project team needs to identify problems as early as possible and provide solutions. For instance, if one of the seedlings starts to wilt, the team should identify some of the causes. They could brainstorm on the causes of problem and discover that they are overwatering the plant or providing inadequate mulch.
Monitoring will also entail an analysis of the efficiency of the project. It may not be easy to assess the effect of the trees on soil and the ecosystem earlier on. However, the team can examine the rate of growth of the trees. Each species has a preset annual growth rate. Members should analyse whether these growth rates are being met. If not, then they can also brainstorm on the possible causes and solutions towards those challenges. Operations will always be subject to change depending on the progress of the project and the new discoveries made by the stakeholders. Monitoring should also incorporate the determination of how accessible the project is to the rest of the university members after the tree planting ceremony. All concerned individuals need to know how their trees are progressing, especially in line with growth rates.
Lastly, the monitoring system will dwell on the impact of the project. This will begin towards the last three months of the project. If soil erosion and ecological systems have altered in the area, then the project will be on track. If the evaluation reveals that little has been achieved, then the concerned individuals should give recommendations to start a new tree-planting initiative using lessons learnt from the previous endeavour.
The monitoring system, in this project, will utilise a number of tools. First, team members will write monthly reports on their activities. They need to focus on their achievements in that period of time; they should also compare this to the project plan. Diaries will also be a useful tool for monitoring progress in the project because the team will need to keep daily or weekly reports on their activities. This will assist them in identifying resource shortages as well as bottlenecks in implementation. The team will also have monthly meetings that will allow them to compare notes.
Steps Required to Close the Project
The project will be completed approximately one year after the tree planting ceremony. The team members will hand over management of the trees to the university administration who have the choice of either hiring a new set of employees to manage the project or they have the option of designating those duties of tree care to existing university gardeners.
In this regard, the project will end when the set number of days has been completed. Team members must document all the changes that they made to the project plan. They must also look at the minutes of the meetings they had and the reports they handed in. It will be necessary to weed out some of the experiences and the lessons learnt from those particular changes. The main aim of looking at these records is to develop a log of the problems that the team experienced. They would be invaluable to new caretakers of the plants. It is a known fact in project management that when past problems are well understood then they can assist concerned stakeholders to avoid the same mistakes in the future (Wysocki, 2000).
Prior to the closure of this project, the concerned managers will analyse the best suppliers for seedlings, equipment and fertiliser. They could play a crucial role in showing the university where to get replacements or replenishments when the equipments, herbicides or fertiliser they require run out.
The project leaders must analyse the overall success of the project. Here, it must compare the quantifiable data on soil and the environment with the set project goals. Judgement should also be based on whether minor changes are recorded because it is unlikely that much may achieved in just one year after transplanting. Perhaps, the most important aspect of assessment will be an analysis of the effectiveness of project organisation. The project leaders must investigate whether team members were effectively organised. They need to know whether they should make changes in future projects. In this regard, the team members ought to think about the processes and techniques used to achieve results. The team must be honest enough to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of their work. These lessons should be documented for future reference.
Lastly, the project team must give recommendations and instructions to the next team in order to ensure continuity and the success of their efforts. Trees still require some care after maturing, and one must not compromise on that.
Obstacles of Tree Planting Project
The major challenge to the success of this project is the lack of support from the university administration. Without their commitment, the student body will not be obligated to contribute towards the plan and there will be no funding for the project. Additionally, the university might be reluctant about designating certain portions of its land for tree planting. This may minimise the ability of the project team to commence. Trees are sensitive organisms; consequently, they may be susceptible to pests, diseases or insects. Native diseases or insects may adapt to the exotic trees and eventually destroy them. There is the danger of poor seedling performance after planting. Some may fail to grow well while others may not grow as fast as recommended. Poor tree performance may also result when the project team fails to carry out its duties well.
In order to secure commitment from the university administration, then the project leaders will need to convince them about the important of tree planting in the community (Angus et al., 2002). They need to tie this to the strategic imperative of the institution, which is to boost the economic or social well being of their community. The financial problem should also be dealt with through placement of the tree planting contribution in the tuition fees. Nonetheless, the project should start one semester after fund collection in order to allow all participating students to pay for it.
If the university administration seems reluctant about land allocation, then the project team can identify pieces of land near side walks or other unconventional areas in order to ease the administration’s burden. To deal with the problem of insects and disease destruction, the project team will always monitor the planted trees for signs of these infections. However, prior to planting the entire university, they should purchase seedlings that have been grown in the university before. To minimise issues concerning poor growth rate, the team needs to match the seedlings with the soil type.
Additionally, only the vendors who have a return policy will be selected. Some seedling vendors allow returns if seedlings fail to grow within a certain grace period; only such suppliers will be considered. The plantation maintenance problem will be addressed by constant activity documenting. The regular meetings will also ensure that members always carry out maintenance procedures as expected.
Recommendations
This project is likely to do well in the future if the project team follows the project plan to the letter. Everyone should stick to the schedule and must monitor their activities in order to ascertain that they do not lag behind. Utmost care must be given to the preliminary phase of the project because this is the make-or-break moment. The project team must ensure that a thorough site analysis is done. It must then select seedlings that suit the soil structure and type in the university. The team must select the right vendors because unhealthy seedlings will guarantee poor tree growth. They should identify signs of ill health and reject such seedlings. The project members ought to stick to the quality control system identified earlier concerning the preliminary stage. They should also identify any poor results as soon as possible and return the seedlings. Planting should commence during cool weather so as to minimise drying or excessive flooding.
In order to secure adequate funding for the project, the student body should be obligated to donate towards the project in the tuition fees. For this to happen, the project team must secure support from the university administration. The group should link the tree planting exercise to the university’s sustainability goals.
With regard to the project team dynamics, it will be imperative to establish monitoring systems. First, the team should document all its activities in diaries and reports on a weekly and monthly basis. All members must compare their performance with intended goals and timelines. They should also talk about obstacles in monthly meetings and suggest solutions for those challenges. If the project leaders can address all these issues, then chances are that the tree planting exercise will be a great exercise for them.
References
Angus , R., Gundersen, N., Cullinane, T. (2002). Planning, performing and controlling projects. London, Alyn and Bacon.
Graham, R. & Englund, R. (1997). Creating an environment for successful projects: the quest to manage project management. San Fransisco, Jossey Bass.
Kerzner, H. (2000). Project Management: a systems approach to the planning scheduling and controlling. NY, Project management institute.
Kerzner, H. (1999). Applied project management: best practices on implementation. NY, Wiley.
Wysocki, R. (2000). Effective project management. NY, Wiley.
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