I thought. After a nine-year nursing career, I met with
Dr. Sharon Jean-Philippe at the University of Tennessee
(UT) in 2021; she introduced me to urban forestry. Dr. JP
(as we call her) has endless energy and passion for what
she does—and she found funding to cover my tuition.
My master's research focuses on characterizing the
constraints that face individuals in under-resourced
neighborhoods who are considering green industry
careers. This is where my two career worlds inter-
sect. In 2023, I developed a program called Tree CPR
in partnership with The Works and funded through the
American Forests Tree Equity Workforce Network. Tree
CPR is a full-time workforce development program that
provides education, life skills, and job skills training
for careers in urban forestry and arboriculture. We
piloted it in the fall of 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee.
During the first week of Tree CPR, the cohort and
I participated in a forest bathing workshop with a
certified forest therapy guide to help establish a foun-
dation rooted in acceptance and self-awareness. From
there, we had classes on conflict resolution, financial
planning, and professional networking while gaining
technical knowledge in dendrology, tree climbing, urban
sawmill operations, tree nursery skills, and more.
Tree CPR is more than just learning about urban for-
estry; it's learning how to become who we want to
be—in a safe environment. Care. Preserve. Regenerate &
Reuse. This is what CPR stands for, which is the mission
for the people it serves and our urban forests alike.
I'm currently the Tennessee Champion Tree Program
Director, working with other UT interns. We get
to travel across the state to measure and catalog
trees—from the vast ecosystems across Appalachia
to the urban areas by the Mississippi River. I also run
a summer internship program through BattleField
Farms in East Knoxville, teaching youth how to >>
Kayla Stuart and colleagues at the Tennessee State Champion
White Oak (Quercus alba). Photo by Owen Davids
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