A Steadfast Path:
My Urban Forestry and
USDA Forest Service Journey
By Beattra Wilson
Photos courtesy of Beattra Wilson
I grew up surrounded by pine forests in a small town
in Louisiana called Oakdale. I was introduced to agri-
culture education and career opportunities beginning
in fourth grade through my involvement with 4-H.
I competed at the parish and statewide fairs in the
4-H Sew with Cotton and Public Speaking contests.
Those 4-H experiences helped propel me to
hold leadership roles in high school. I also had
a pivotal experience at a summer agricultural
camp at Southern University and A&M College,
a historically black college and university (HBCU)
system, where I learned in depth about urban
forestry and other agriculture professions.
(This summer agriculture institute continues
to serve 40-50 students each summer, and
the Forest Service is a supporting partner.)
As I was looking into college degree programs, based
on my test scores and GPA I was recruited by two
colleges for urban forestry and agriculture eco-
nomics and five colleges for engineering. Ultimately,
I chose to study urban forestry because it seemed
like a perfect merger of my deep connection to agri-
culture along with my desire to have a career that
afforded me the opportunity to live in a big city. >>
Beattra Wilson began her career with the USDA
Forest Service in 2002 in Atlanta as an urban forestry
trainee; she is now the Forest Service Assistant Director
of Cooperative Forestry and National Lead for Urban
and Community Forestry. We asked Beattra to share
some of her educational and career trajectory and what
excites her about her work. Here she is in her own words.
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