The Future of SMA
Young Professionals
Man Wa Lee
Hello there! My name is Man Wa Lee (I go by "Wa") from
Hong Kong, and I moved to Vancouver, Canada last year.
I am a third-year student of an MSc in Arboriculture
and Urban Forestry through the University of Central
Lancashire in the UK. The course leader is Dr. Duncan
Slater and the tutor is Dr. Andrew Hirons. I met my
mentor, Mr. Kevin Eckert, while he was inspecting an
Old and Valuable Tree (OVT) in a park in Hong Kong in
2008. He brought me into the industry and has taught
me a great deal about arboriculture and tree work.
I have 12 years of experience in the industry. After I
gained that work experience, I found that a good aca-
demic background would be beneficial to both my
knowledge and career path. Therefore, I began the MSc
course in 2020. The course covers tree biology and phys-
iology, the science of tree establishment, planning for
urban forests and green infrastructure, etc. I've read
many research papers and course materials and pro-
duced my own reports, including documentation after
inspecting and assessing trees. I've acquired a lot of new
knowledge and understanding, and my horizons have
been broadened. Additionally, through the course, I've
been trained to think critically and gain self-manage-
ment skills. I am in my third year now and am working
on my research project, which I am very excited about.
For my career, I will keep working as an arborist but
hope I can use what I learn from this course to con-
tribute to urban forests and the public good. I am
especially interested in tree risk assessment and manage-
ment to keep people safe but also as a means to increase
the public's awareness of the benefits of urban trees.
Man Wa Lee at Canada's longest pier, in White Rock,
British Columbia. The pier is 470 meters (1542 feet) long.
urban-forestry.com 11
