NCGS-M008 — Stewardship persistence from care records
- Code: NCGS-M008
- Version: NCGS-2026-09-24
- Approval status: Approved
Recording care events on tree individuals by whoever performs them, to the evidence bar of the observer role, and computing from them the care actions recorded, stewardship persistence at each horizon, and the share of stewards and owners practising a skill an education session taught them. Care records are verified against the next monitoring visit’s observation of the tree, never reviewed one at a time.
underlying principles and assumptions
Stewardship is one activity type whoever performs it; the observer role grades the evidence (ADR-0004): the implementing partner photographs, a household reports through WhatsApp. A care event is an action, never an observation of the tree’s state (ADR-0005). The offset of a care event from the tree’s anchor is recorded as for observations (ADR-0010), so persistence is a rate per horizon with survival’s denominator discipline. A taught skill is a curriculum element and a practised one a care action; the mapping between them is data. Delivered-only trees may be cared for; their care enters history, never a survival rate (ADR-0003).
methods and procedures
At a care event, record the site, the trees or the whole site, the date, the actions, the watering volume and source, the performer in role, and a photograph where the observer is a fieldworker or supervisor; export computes each tree’s offset from its anchor. At the next monitoring visit, compare the observed mulch cover, soil moisture and stem paint with the care recorded since the last visit. Compute the three outputs from conformant records and approved observations.
data requirements and inputs
Conformant stewardship records (the NCGS stewardship data requirement); the trees’ planting records or consignments for the anchor; the care-actions scheme and the curriculum-to-care-action mapping; for persistence, the monitoring visits and the horizon scheme; for practised skills, the education session records with their adult attendees.
calculation and transformation rules
Care actions recorded = the number of (tree, action) pairs over stewardship records at the site, a whole-site record contributing one pair per tree at the site and action. Stewardship persistence at horizon H = 100 × |trees in the planted-with-monitoring stratum observed at H with at least one care record whose offset lies in H’s window| / |trees observed at H|; unobserved trees leave both sides. Stewards practising a taught skill = 100 × |trees whose steward or owner attended a session covering the tree’s site and whose care records include an action taught by that session| / |trees whose steward or owner attended such a session|; a session teaches an action through the curriculum element’s teachesCareAction. Roll-up over sites, species, strata or places sums numerators and denominators.
outputs and units of measure
Care actions recorded (count, NUM) by action, performer role, stratum, site and census place; stewardship persistence at horizon (PERCENT) with the survival family’s axes; stewards practising a taught skill (PERCENT) by curriculum element, site and census place.
validation and verification approach
Verification by observation: at the next monitoring visit the reviewer of that visit checks that mulch cover, soil moisture and stem paint are consistent with the care recorded since the previous visit; a care record contradicted by the observation stands as unverified self-report and is flagged, not deleted. A fieldworker’s or supervisor’s record is verified by its anchored geotagged photograph as well. Care records are not reviewed one by one and enter the validation sample of the project design.
limitations and applicability boundaries
Self-reports from stewards and owners carry the observer role’s lower evidence grade and depend on WhatsApp access. Persistence counts records, not water: a weekly watering and a monthly one both count once in a window. The taught-skill rate needs adult attendees recorded as agent roles; learners never enter it. Whole-site records cannot be verified per tree.
rationale
KIA-Adapt showed that whether a household mulched, watered and painted the stem decided whether the tree lived; recording care as it happens, grading it by who reports it and checking it against the next observation makes stewardship a measured outcome rather than an assumption behind survival.
Applicability
- NCGS-M008: a care record enters the counts only when every tree it names exists (planting record or consignment) and stands at the record’s site.
- NCGS-M008: every care action is a concept in the care-actions scheme.
- NCGS-M008: a care record performs at least one action.
- NCGS-M008: every cared-for tree entry carries its offset in days from the tree’s anchor, so that persistence can be counted per horizon.
Indicators it serves
Activity types
- Stewardship
Knowledge domains a reviewer needs
- Field survey and data capture
- Tree establishment and stewardship
Variables
| Variable | Role | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care actions recorded (|A_c|) | DerivedOutput | NUM | |A_c| = number of (tree, action) pairs over care records; a whole-site record contributes one pair per tree at the site and action. |
| Stewards practising a taught skill (K) | DerivedOutput | PERCENT | K = 100 × |trees with s_t whose care records include an a_r in a_s| / |trees with s_t|; rolled up by summing. |
| Stewardship persistence at horizon (P_H) | DerivedOutput | PERCENT | P_H = 100 × |monitored trees observed at H with a care record whose d_r lies in H’s window| / |trees observed at H|; unobserved excluded from both sides; rolled up by summing. |
| Care action (a_r) | MeasuredInput | UNITLESS | |
| Care action taught (a_s) | MeasuredInput | UNITLESS | The care actions the attended session taught, through each curriculum element’s teachesCareAction. |
| Offset of the care event from the tree’s anchor (d_r) | MeasuredInput | DAY | Days from planting (else delivery) to the care date; a care record counts for horizon H when d_r lies in H’s window. |
| Performer role (p_r) | MeasuredInput | UNITLESS | |
| Session attended by the tree’s steward or owner (s_t) | MeasuredInput | UNITLESS | An education session covering the tree’s site whose adult attendees include the tree’s steward or owner, joined by agent IRI. |
| Tree cared for (t_r) | MeasuredInput | NUM |
Monitoring requirements
- Care verified against the next monitoring visit: At each monitoring visit the observed mulch cover, soil moisture and stem paint are compared with the care recorded since the previous visit; a care record the observation contradicts stands as unverified self-report and is flagged. Care records are never reviewed one by one.