City Trees

4 CityTREES President's Message Scott Altenhoff Executive Director's Message Jerri J. LaHaie I haven't watched a lot of the Olympics, but when I have tuned in, I have enjoyed learning about the athletes' individu- al stories. Being an Olympic athlete is of course no small feat in itself, but the stories of how they face and overcome the challenges they encounter is truly inspiring. As we gear up for the Municipal Forestry Institute later in September, we are talking a lot about what makes a great leader, and it occurs to me that there are many lessons to be learned from these athletes. It's obvious that it is helpful to have team- mates to encourage you, coaches to provide guidance, and fans to cheer you on. I think the same is true for most of us. Even the best of jobs can be difficult, and it helps to have col- leagues who will remind you that they have your back, bosses who support and inspire you, and mentors to provide the voice of experience. At SMA, we are here to help you on your leader- ship journey. Sure, MFI is a week of fine-tuning your skills, but belonging to this professional association is your investment in your support system. When you have a problem you need help with, your colleagues in towns and cit- ies around the world are just a click away. You won't find more knowledgeable or helpful urban forestry professionals anywhere else. City Trees is one of the best member magazines you will find. You can participate in the Arborist Exchange program and learn directly from a community like yours. Need someone to mentor you through a difficult time? SMA has a mentor program for that. Want to share your exper- tise? You can be an SMA mentor to someone who could benefit from connecting with you. There are so many ways to become the best version of you, even if you aren't on your way to Tokyo. You're a member of SMA— and that's a team you can be proud of. For better or for worse, our world is becoming ever more urbanized and interconnected. Because of this, our urban forests—and those of us who care for them—will play an increasingly important role in keeping people healthy and sane. Thriving urban forests will ever more critically counteract the negative effects of the highly developed environments that we live in. Research shows that trees and urban nature exert a subtle but powerful influence on human physiology and psychol- ogy at both the individual and community levels, and that they clearly affect how we humans feel, think, and behave. We've long known that our urban forests play an essen- tial role in our physical, emotional, social, economic, and spiritual well-being, but now thanks to big data and smart city technologies, we've been able to connect many of the dots and see patterns and relationships like never before. As urban forestry professionals, one of our biggest chal- lenges has always been to understand and communicate all the important benefits that trees provide to human beings, and to convey how these benefits relate to the bigger picture. If we are going to be successful with this work, we'll need to align our programs and policies with those of our community health and wellness partners and ensure that the urban forest benefits are monitored in real time and equitably distributed among all people. As in so many other areas of life, it's amazing how quickly the science, technology, and awareness within our profes- sion have advanced over the last few years. We now have ways to tease apart the numerous feedback loops that make up our urban forests and to map out, understand, and manage these complex social-ecological systems. Thanks to all the new tools and technologies, we can quickly and easily share critical information with a broad range of com- munity stakeholders and manage adaptively. It seems like we're finally on our way to building smart green cities and realizing the promise of an "Internet of Nature." The focus of our 57 th SMA Annual Conference in Louisville this November will be on exploring the many connections between municipal trees and human well-being. Heartfelt thanks to Dorothy Abeyta and the entire planning committee who've put together a fantastic program. Can't wait to see everyone there!

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