City Trees

September/October 2019

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!

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6 CityTREES Building and sustaining partnerships is one of the four strategic areas where we are directing our efforts and resources this year. I want to give you an update on SMA's new and continu- ing partnerships, especially in promoting the management and enhancement of urban and community forests around the world. Jerri LaHaie's Executive Director's Message this issue highlights our expanded partnership that is strengthening and invigorating the Arborist Exchange Program. One of our new partners in the exchange is Cities4Forests, a global urban and community forest initiative whose mission is "Connecting cities and for- ests around the world for people's well-being, climate resilience, water management, and biodiversity." At least two cities with SMA-Accredited urban and com- munity forestry programs—Sacramento, California and Eugene, Oregon—are among the 60 cities world- wide that have joined the Cities4Forests initiative. One of SMA's valued partners, the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF), has also entered into a global cities initiative. The Tree Cities of the World program, in partner- ship with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is a new global network of tree cities that will receive international recognition for their leadership in urban & community forestry. SMA has committed to help ADF promote the program. We urge all our international members and partners, including our Professional, Student and Affiliate members, to encourage fellow community members and leaders to embrace this recognition program. I think it is also important to acknowledge and take pride in the value of SMA's Municipal Program Accreditation. SMA Accreditation is a peer-reviewed program that formally recognizes urban and commu- nity forestry programs for implementing excellent and comprehensive management practices. Accreditation is structured to build on ADF's successful Tree City USA designation by incorporating additional profes- sional standards important for managing municipal trees. SMA Accreditation sets a high bar and offers the highest recognition for notable municipal pro- grams. Please consider promoting Accreditation in your city or town in the U.S. and around the world. The Arborist Exchange (AE) is one of my favor- ite SMA programs. If you have read about the participants' adventures in City Trees, I'm sure your interest was piqued. Have you ever been in a class or at a conference and heard someone talking about their urban forestry program and thought to yourself, "I would love to shadow this per- son and learn from them"? If so, AE is for you! A huge shout-out to Past SMA President and mem- ber extraordinaire Doug Still, who not only was involved in the creation of AE, but has breathed new life into it. Some of you may have met Candace Powning, who was an intern with Doug last year; she was instrumental in helping launch our first online silent auction at the conference. She is now working with Doug in Providence, and as a new graduate and SMA member, she stepped into leadership by co-chairing the AE committee. Together Doug and Candace have expanded the reach of the AE by inviting new partners, includ- ing Utility Arborists Association, Alliance for Community Trees, Arbor Day Foundation, and Cities4Forests, to join us in our mission of peer- to-peer learning. Like municipal arborists, utility arborists and non-profit tree managers all have a tremendous impact on our urban forests. Our AE partners are excited about bringing this unique learning opportunity to their members, and we think SMA members will be equally excit- ed about learning from our partners. We are expecting to receive a lot of applications this year and hope to raise a record amount of money at our silent auction so that we can support more exchanges. You have until December 2 to apply! Please donate an item for the auction—and bid on items. Even if you can't attend the conference, or can't apply to be an exchange participant, you can get involved in the silent auction from the comfort of your laptop or phone. And when you read about the AE in City Trees, you'll feel good knowing you helped to advance this program and our profession at large. President's Message Keith Cline Executive Director's Message Jerri J. LaHaie

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