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/599208
National Conservation Training Center. Photo from smithgroupjjr.com MFI 2016 Register Online Now! www.urban-forestry.com MFI 2016 will be held Feb 21-16, 2016 at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. At MFI (Municipal Forestry Institute) 2015, we were instructed to come up with a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) with our peer learning groups. In my group, we identified right away that making the public aware of urban for - estry is an enormous challenge. It was very interesting to have consensus on this from participants from many different places in North America. If we want to move forward as an industry, and have more support, we need to implement strategies to create more awareness and have more buy-in from the public. How do we get there? I strongly believe the answer is in targeted communication. We have to find ways to reach out to those who have not listened yet. As a group at MFI, we discussed how when we have events, many people come and volunteers show up. But these attendees are already urban forestry allies. It is those who did not come to the event who we need to reach out to. The first step is to identify them. The second step became very clear to me when the MFI Cadre mentioned how it is important to establish a relationship with a community leader so as to learn how different groups listen and thus be able to target our approach. Cultural differences can be a barrier, but if we listen to people within that group, we can learn to approach them in a way that our message can be heard. When I returned from MFI, I brought many ideas with me and shared them with my team at the City of Surrey, BC Trees and Landscape Section. This one resonated with them and we immediately started to brainstorm how we will find new friends in the community who will help us deliver our urban forestry message. The seed has been planted, and we are motivated to act on it. The communication strategy will not be easy or fast, and most importantly it will not be stagnant. It must be a continuing effort so as to create momentum and increase awareness effectively. Success will be measured in terms of increased participation and feedback from those areas in the community we want to reach. As an industry in search of more awareness and acknowledgement, working together in achieving a common goal, we must share stories of success so that the targeted communication strategy can be a national achievement. MFI and the Quest for Urban Forestry Awareness by Carolina Arango, Arborist, City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada