A member of the UCFS Young
and Emerging Professionals (YEP)
Committee, Steven Eyster is an
Urban Planner II for the City of
Tampa, Florida Zoning Department.
Before my current position, I was a Forestry Examiner
for Tampa and before that, I worked as a Landscape
Examiner and Environmental Code Enforcement Office
for Hillsborough County, Florida. In 2017, I earned
my bachelor's degree in Environmental Science
and Policy from the University of South Florida.
If I had known about urban forestry and arboricul-
ture at a younger age, I would've wanted to study
them in college and be more prepared from the start
for working in the capacity I do now. I felt lost and
overwhelmed when I entered the field. That's one of
the reasons I joined the UCFS Young and Emerging
Professionals Committee, to see how we can make
the path easier for the people coming up behind us.
My path's been made clearer since going to MFI
last year—that opened up a lot of doors for me—
and then becoming a mentee to Village of Downers
Grove, Illinois Forester Greg Soltwisch through the
UCFS Mentoring Program. We have stayed in touch
for two years now and one of the things that's
special is the fact that Greg is a few steps ahead
of me, but close enough in age (he's 5 years older)
and in professional and life stage to me that he
knows what I'm going through; it's all still fresh
for him. Before being mentored by Greg, I was
going through the motions. Greg even helped me
study for the ISA Municipal Specialist exam. >>
Something I'd love to see
young and emerging
urban foresters discuss
more as a community is
the question: "Is this the
right move?" For example, if
you're a field arborist and
have the chance to move
into an office role, do you?
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