I want to be sure to mention the mentorship role that Steve
Cothrel [former and retired Superintendent of Parks and
Forestry at Upper Arlington] played for me and my boss, City
Forester Sam Simmons. He trained both of us for our jobs;
I had two years with him but wish it could have been more.
Steve is someone who pretty much has mentored everyone
at Upper Arlington; if you know Steve, you know that's in his
nature. He has an incredible memory and is generously recep-
tive to our calls when things come up—even relating to events
from 25 or more years ago. That has been super helpful.
The work Steve did creating and growing the urban forestry program in
Upper Arlington is extraordinary; we're just trying to build on his formi-
dable legacy. It was Steve who encouraged me to become active with UCFS
and ISA, which led me to apply for the UCFS Arborist Exchange program.
—Matt Stewart, Forestry Supervisor and Sidewalk
Maintenance Program Manager
Stewart learned that Cambridge and Upper Arlington
are similar in terms of affluence—but have one major
difference. "While we're almost exclusively residen-
tial, Cambridge is a mix of residential and commercial;
it's more built up. Their tree planting opportunities
are mostly in existing sidewalk pits, whereas we deal
with a lot of curb strips and rights-of-way, with no
sidewalk. I'm frequently talking to residents about
what kind of tree they want in their yard, making
sure that it matches the site. Often, I am making
the case for larger trees (where there's adequate
space, of course) to help meet our canopy goals."
Stewart and his director would be happy to host a
UCFS Arborist Exchange in Upper Arlington. "We
have a beautiful urban forest here, and there's
a lot about our program that we're really proud
of," he says. For instance, at the City Centennial
in 2018, Parks unveiled a Centennial Heritage Tree
project; by the time the submission window closed,
residents had reported more than 220 qualifying
trees on private property. Parks verified the trees
and then offered residents yard signs to display.
Stewart says that residents still proudly reference
their Centennial Heritage Tree when they call—and
the project raised lasting awareness of the value
of older trees and the urban forest as a whole.
During the Exchange, Lefcourt took Stewart to a
Massachusetts Tree Wardens and Foresters Board
Meeting in Norfolk, MA and to a Committee on
Public Planting meeting in Cambridge. These gave
Stewart ideas to bring back to his job and to his
post on the ISA-Ohio Education Committee. In
his free time, Stewart explored all of Cambridge's
parks on foot and went to a Red Sox game in
Boston. Fittingly, he stayed in a B&B called
Ginkgo House, right in the middle of town.
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