Rick Armstrong wants to save what's in his backyard and he's using his camera to do it.

The Murrysville-based photographer is compiling images of local forests with a goal to create a photo essay to promote the preservation of green space and creating a better environment.

"I'm trying to be an advocate for the forest," Armstrong says.

When Armstrong decided to move to Murrysville and start a family, he knew he had to find something local to continue his career as a photographer. That led him to begin studying local forests.

"I started looking at the woods," Armstrong says. "And then the health of the woods and how are they going to fare for my kids."

Through his photography, Armstrong began capturing images of forests in local neighborhoods.

What he found was that the term "urban woods" meant more than just a few trees planted along streets.

"Neighborhoods are invading the woods," Armstrong says.

Armstrong says he wants to try and prevent problems in his hometown that have plagued other areas. Those problems include insects that can now survive in an urban environment because of global warming.

Infestations in states such as Alaska and Montana have decimated some forests, something he doesn't want to see happen locally.

"These are things that can take down trees in masses and really compromise urban forests," Armstrong says.

Armstrong wants people to notice any destruction before it's too late.

"It can eek away instead of having a dramatic disappearance," he says. "That's more dangerous."

While Armstrong has the photographs he needs, the next step in his project is deciding how to use them.

"Everybody's photographed forests," Armstrong says. "It's been done to death. I'm interested in doing something different."

He plans to possibly compile his work into a photo essay or magazine article.

Armstrong says he hopes the end result will educate people on ways to ensure that local forests don't fade away with development.

With more funding for preservation of forests, he says, the Pittsburgh area can continue to find ways to preserve its natural surroundings. Organizations like Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forests have been working to do just that.

"The area had so far to go," Armstrong says. "It's come a long way, but it still has a long way to go."

When the project is done, he hopes that people will be inspired to look at the nature that is closest to them.

"At the end of it, you want people to say 'oh, that's what's happening in our forest."