4. Higher Education. Professions use their BoK to
inform dedicated higher education curricula which
creates continuity from school to higher educa-
tion to workforce and beyond. We have very few
degree programs that specifically reflect our BoK,
and surveys showed that most urban foresters
hold degrees in a "related" field. Support for ded-
icated degree programs could bolster recognition
of our field and help entry-level urban forest pro-
fessionals develop high levels of expertise quickly.
5. Public Trust. Achieving public trust requires
proactive assessment and strategic, inten-
tional actions. A professional organization leads
this effort to establish the legitimacy, credi-
bility, and consistency of practitioners through
education and knowledge creation and via certi-
fication, degree accreditation, and regulation.
Related efforts in urban forestry tend to promote
arboriculture, tree planting, and other urban
tree issues, but not urban forest professionals
themselves. New efforts to communicate what
urban forest professionals do and the exper-
tise they provide can increase public trust. This
is possible! Think about the public's advances
in understanding the different expertise of
public health professionals vs. doctors.
6. Recruitment. Coordinated recruitment is
essential, as professions are in constant com-
petition with each other to recruit talented
people, whether they realize it or not. Other
professions direct students into formal recruit-
ment pipelines—collaborations between
higher education, industry, and employers.
There is often little connection between planting
a tree with kids for Arbor Day and creating a
positive learning experience that convinces
youth to pursue a career in our profession. In
addition, O'Herrin et al. (2018) found that the
career ladder lacks entry-level positions that
lead to career advancement in urban forestry,
a key element of recruitment. More deliberate
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22 CityTREES
This is an exciting and dynamic area for urban for-
estry, thanks to the many passionate professionals
who care about our field. As ISA-MS is revisited, it
may make sense to think about its alignment spe-
cifically with urban forest professionals. Much has
changed in the professional world since its incep-
tion. In addition, the Society of American Foresters
is currently developing an urban and community
forestry credential. By 2025, urban forestry will
have gone from zero to two purpose-built creden-
tials. How can these two credentials complement
each other rather than directly competing?
