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/105677
2014. I interned with Allen Selmer in Houston, Texas, where I had the opportunity to engage in activities around assessing, quantifying, and maintaining the urban forest. We identified hazardous trees and marked them for pruning or removal where appropriate. We performed site inspections based on the descriptions of hazards on work orders received. We had to determine whether the hazards were on the City's right-of-way or on private property. If they were on the City's right-of-way, the City sent its work crew to eliminate the hazard. If on private property, the residents, business owners, etc. had to eliminate the hazard. This internship was a very useful experience because I had the opportunity to see how a large city actually assesses and maintains its urban forest. Tony Crook (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Michael DeMarco (State University of New YorkCollege of Environmental Science & Forestry) the City of Indianapolis, Indiana City Forestr y depar tment was stressed and financially stretched to the limit. My bosses did what they could with the money/manpower that they possessed. The implied sense of doing what needs to be done (making strong cases to present in meeting after meeting, inspection after inspection) for the sake of public safety was both interesting and inspiring to be part of. My major is natural resource management with an urban forestry minor; I graduated in December 2012. Being asked to present at the SMA Conference in Sacramento was a complete honor. Sharing my experiences with the other interns, executive director Jerri LaHaie, as well as other distinguished guests was an experience I will not soon forget. A large part of this feeling that fills me is the fact that there were so many interesting and important people in the world of urban forestry that took the time to listen to not only myself, but to the other interns speak of their experiences. This display of respect for a new upcoming wave of people interested in managing urban forests was wonderful to see. During the summer of 2012, 38 I am a senior majoring in urban forestry and minoring in GIS and spatial analysis. My summer internship experience with Falls Church, Virginia City Arborist Ben Thompson was personally and professionally rewarding. Throughout the internship I was able to work alongside industry professionals to gain valuable work experience. Some of these experiences include: inventorying city specimen trees, rewriting the city's approved tree planting list, iTree inventory analysis, working with GIS/GPS systems, site and grading plan review, and storm damage assessment. The City of Falls Church also played a large role making my summer a positive experience. All of my co-workers made it a point Tony Crook does DBH measurement of an Ilex americana as part of a tree inventory in Falls Church, Virginia. of integrating me into their professional environment and taking the time to teach me different aspects of working for a municipality. The internship has provided me with the ability to become more equipped for my transition from a college career to a professional career. I can only hope that future interns will be exposed to the realities of urban forestry as not just an ideal that is romanticized and fairytale like, but in actuality can be full of challenges that see late nights, fiscal pressures, political backlash as well as engagement in selfless-thankless actions that at times may be necessary to ensure both sense of place and Mike DeMarco saw how city foresters in safety for those living in munici- Indianapolis, Indiana prioritized work in a pal settings. tight fiscal reality to maximize public safety. City Trees