City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/171276
SV: The relationships I've forged with mem- to source some of our plant material from bers of the media continue to be of great benefit. Traditional media outlets like radio and TV continue to provide support with timely PSAs and by helping to draw attention and awareness to topics of local importance pertaining to our trees. We have an official Facebook page (Urban Forestry Thunder Bay), active community-based bloggers (see www.thunderbaytrees. ca) and of course Twitter users. These new outlets allow people to organize at a grassroots level pretty quickly in support for our municipal trees—and that's exciting! RH: What is your relationship like with the institutions of higher learning here in the City? Do you have a chance to interact with faculty and natural resource management students? SV: I guest lecture to natural resource students at both Lakehead University and Confederation College, our community college. Over the years I have been able to maintain solid relationships with a number of faculty members in both schools. I also sit on undergraduate and graduate students' committees and regularly interface with both schools on a number of fronts. RH: In the past, you've identified two major challenges: changing attitudes regarding the value of urban trees AND your difficulty in locating local sources for street tree plantings. What sort of success have you had on both of these fronts? SV: People really have come a long way in terms of valuing our local urban forest. Though it was challenging in the beginning, I really think that we have turned a corner and the population as a whole has really started to embrace the idea that street trees and even green spaces are part of the foundational infrastructure of the city and as necessary as roads and bridges. In fact they now demand it. Beautification and overall appearance has been identified as a high priority by a recent community satisfaction survey here in Thunder Bay. On the other hand, our challenges continue regarding locating reliable sources of stock for street tree plantings. We have started 18 Southern Ontario but because of climatic differences we need to carefully choose northern-hardy cultivars. We look largely to Western provinces like Manitoba for our street trees. No matter where we get our trees, shipping costs are high for us and my hope is that we can find a more local source for street trees in the future. RH: There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes regarding the science, art, and practice of managing an urban forest. For a new graduate who would like to get into urban forest management, can you offer any advice? SV: I believe it's an exciting time for urban forestry in general. I think that while we see interest ebb in other more traditional resource-management sectors, urban forestry is the up and coming sector of forestry. For me, it has been the commitment to fostering strong, cooperative relationships that has been foundational in the success of my position. Credentials, education, and position title are all very important but at the end of the day, it's about taking a sincere interest in the goings-on of both key stakeholders and community residents. RH: Finally, what are your goals for the future of the urban forest in the City of Thunder Bay? SV: Our comprehensive urban forest management plan, which was written by Davey Resource Group, was accepted by City Council this year without any real challenges, debates, or major changes. We were very excited about this. Essentially, our goal is to become proactive rather than reactive in our urban forest management practices such that we get to a point where young tree training and scheduled preventative pruning of our more mature trees will become the norm. One of the biggest changes in the last couple of years is that we were moved from Community Services to the Infrastructure and Operations Department. This puts the management of our urban forests on equal footing with other elements of the community's infrastructure—which is right where it should be. City Trees