The new Urban Wood Reuse Action Guide is live on the
Vibrant Cities Lab! Wood is an abundant, renewable resource.
This guide supports communities seeking to take wood out
of the waste stream, generate practical new products, gen-
erate income, and create jobs. With more trees removed from
urban areas than National Forests, urban wood reuse in legacy
cities can ignite new industrial economies that create jobs,
improve ecosystems, and reduce environmental impact.
Throughout the country, more than 28,000,000 tons of urban
wood waste may be available annually for recovery in the
U.S.—from clearing for development, demolition of aban-
doned buildings, to removal of dead or diseased trees. The
City of Baltimore took advantage of these "invisible" assets
and moved their community closer to its vision of a sustain-
able future. Learn how your community can do the same.
New Urban Wood Reuse Action Guide
Black walnut table from a salvaged
urban tree in Warwick, New York.
Photo from New York Heartwoods
Across the country, urban forestry employers face
an unprecedented labor shortage. More than 7,000
positions are projected to open in tree mainte-
nance and plant health care through 2026, not
including another 95,000 positions in landscaping.
Who will fill these slots? Well, the right people may
already be right around the corner from where
more trees and tree maintenance are needed most.
Learn more in the Career Pathways Action Guide,
recently launched on the Vibrant Cities Lab!
Cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Pittsburgh,
and more have faced their labor shortages through
programs designed for residents who face barriers
to employment, inclusively rebuilding tomorrow's
urban forestry workforce. You can, too. This Guide
is based on the Tree Equity: Career Pathways ini-
tiative work from American Forests' Sarah Lillie
Anderson, Eboni Hall, PhD, and Ian Leahy Anderson.
Career Pathways Action Guide
Onondaga Earth Corps graduate and advanced
crew member in Syracuse, New York after
a fall 2019 tree planting in Kirk Park.
Crew member in Eugene, Oregon in
the aftermath of a 2019 ice storm.
