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/128847
consider teaching outside of our "normal" realm as an investment in our futures. —Thomas Munn, Public Works Superintendent-Services, City of Hudson, Ohio For years I taught arboriculture at Columbus State Community College while holding down my very full-time job as a municipal superintendent of parks & forestry. As the son of two teachers, I found teaching to be very rewarding, but as an adjunct faculty member, the rewards were primarily of the intangible kind. Our textbook was the ISA's Arborists' Certification Study Guide, which I supplemented with more detailed information as needed. I found that it's true that the best way to master a subject is to teach it. My technical skills were never sharper than they were every fall quarter. I loved the probing questions, the philosophical give and take (or editorializing), and the look of sudden enlightenment when a challenging concept suddenly made sense. Stuff I'd known for years took on new meaning and a refreshed sense of importance when it was brand new information for others. I taught two nights per week, since taking time off during my normal work day was not practical. Students were encouraged to communicate via email so I could respond when time permitted. The College also paid several of the City's other arborists to come in as guest instructors for two tree climbing labs using ropes, saddles, etc. I was required to get the City attorney's permission to take a second job, but it was not a problem since both were public service and public sector positions, and I limited my teaching to one quarter per year. Because my city position is Fair Labor Standards Act exempt (no overtime) and my hours are sometimes irregular anyhow, I had some flexibility in my schedule to attend occasional faculty meetings etc. as long as the city got its minimum 40 hours/week. I enjoyed the faculty meetings because they provided an insider's view of how another public sector agency (and academia) operated. Overall, the time commitment was significant, and the juggling was at times stressful. Adjunct faculty members were paid only for classroom contact hours, so all class preparation, grading, etc. was done on my time. I don't recall if I ever tried to calculate my true hourly wage. If I did, my brain deleted the information quickly in the interest of protecting my mental health and my blood pressure. Nevertheless, I am truly happy that I did it, and I still enjoy running into former students at conferences and elsewhere. Teaching is a calling. If you feel the call, I'd encourage you to give it a try. Just don't do it with the idea of paying for that boat or vacation cottage. —Steve Cothrel, Superintendent of Parks & Forestry, Upper Arlington, Ohio www.urban-forestry.com Announcing the 2013 SMA Interns and Host Cities Out of a competitive pool of 29 host city applicants from 15 states and 16 student applications from 7 different institutions, 11 participants have been selected for this year's program. 2013 SMA Interns: Heather Reed, Oregon State University; Thomas Steele, Univ. of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Gary Tellefson, Univ. of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Michael Zalewski, Univ. of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Alex Estelmann, Univ. of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Casey Clapp, Univ. of Massachusetts Stephen Walton, Univ. of Florida Trakela Wright, Southern University Frank Terrance, Southern University Kurtis Magnello, Kent State University Benjamin Crisp, Carson-Newman College 2013 SMA Host Cities: Bath, Maine; Cumberland, Maryland; Folsom, California; Upper Arlington, Ohio; New York, New York; Hinsdale, Illinois; Cleveland, Tennessee; Columbia, Missouri; Terre Haute, Indiana; Boise, Idaho; and Austin, TX. Beginning in May 2013, the students will spend ten weeks learning from their mentor arborist about the challenges and opportunities that municipal forestry programs face in managing the urban forest to benefit their citizens and their communities. Since 2011, the SMA Intern Program has hosted 16 students in cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition to participating in a valuable summer experience, several of these students have been hired in professional urban forestry positions upon graduation. The SMA Intern Program is a program provided by the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA). Financial support is provided by the USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry Program. 33