www.urban-forestry.com 17
"The best part of my job is that I get to talk to a
lot of people and help them improve their urban
forestry programs," she says. "It's work that's
rewarding and truly useful, and it feels good to
have end products that all parties are happy with."
As a longtime partner with SMA, DRG whole-
heartedly supports Abeyta's involvement with
SMA and the Board. In turn, she is eager to
give back to SMA because of how much she's
benefited from the annual conferences and
from her Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI)
training (2007). "I was sold on SMA after MFI,"
she says. "I keep in touch with my larger com-
munity of MFI buddies, and I am to this day
using skills I learned from the MFI training."
She will have yet another opportunity to apply
MFI principles as this semester, Abeyta and DRG
Western Regional Operations Manager Emily
Spillett began teaching the first urban forestry
course offering at Merritt College in Oakland.
"We are team teaching because we both travel
so much," Abeyta says. "I think we are going
to have a lot of fun doing this … I'm excited!"
In her free time, Abeyta is busy with "a house
full of dogs, cats, and adult children who are
finding their way in the very expensive Bay
Area." She likes to walk with neighbors and has
ripped out all the turf in her yard and replaced it
with drought-tolerant or native species. "When
you're in the green industry, you do feel a certain
pressure to have a nice garden, and I'm proud
of mine," she says. Lastly, she cherishes her
late afternoon sun-basking time in her Hatteras
hammock, "curled up a like a cat, with a book."
"I was sold on SMA after
MFI. I keep in touch with
my larger community of MFI
buddies, and I am to this
day using skills I learned
from the MFI training."
