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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1002119
Canadian Urban Forest Network (CUFN) The CUFN Listserv membership more than doubled from 2014 to 2017, from 450 to 925 members. The CUFN was created to bring people together to share their stories and ideas, ask questions and learn from one another, and in some cases con- test the status quo and grow. Several recent achievements of the CUFN program include: • Conducting the CUFN member survey to capture demographic profiles of list members and to bet- ter understand participant interests (Bardekjian & Chiriac, 2018). These survey results will help guide the CUFN Steering Committee's efforts to engage the regions in the months to come. • Facilitating the development of urban for- estry action plans for each of Canada's five regions in collaboration with the CUFN Steering Committee regional representatives, includ- ing hosting local workshops (e.g., Pacific region: October 2017; Ontario region: October 2017; Atlantic region: November 2017; Prairies region: March 2018). The goal for the action plans is to strategically guide the regions according to their needs. • Launching the Canadian Urban Forestry Awards (2018) to recognize individuals and groups who have significantly contributed to the advancement of Canadian urban forestry. Winners for the inaugural year will be announced at the 2018 International Urban Forestry Congress. • Sharing knowledge by coordinating and deliver- ing webinars and e-lectures in partnership with the Canadian Institute of Forestry on a variety of topics (e.g., best practices, planning, resil- iency) as well as organizing speaker series and panel discussions at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conferences. Collectively, we had over 300 participants nationwide tun- ing in to the webinars and e-lectures. In addi- tion, engagement with the FCM allows us to profile urban forestry efforts and needs to a captive audience of decision makers. • Raising awareness about urban forestry issues at various conventions and events (in excess of 30 between 2014-2017) such as attending the Canadian Forest Service Science-Policy Workshop (September 2017) to discuss integrating urban forests into their 10-year Research Strategy, as well as attempting to set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Tree Hug on National Tree Day (September 2014). The out- comes of these various avenues of engage- ment have increased public interest in urban forestry as well membership in the CUFN. >> The 2018 IUFC, "Diverse in Nature," is organized in collaboration with multiple partners: Tree Canada, City of Vancouver, Pacific Northwest Chapter of the ISA, City of Surrey, and the University of British Columbia. Author Dr. Bardekjian facilitating a panel debate on urban forest sustainability at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference, February 2018. www.urban-forestry.com 17