Reflections on the 2011 SMA Conference in Milwaukee
WHAT'S BREWING IN URBAN FORESTRY? Photos by Michelle Sutton except where indicated
(above) The Milwaukee River Walk brings together the Milwaukee River, fantastic architecture, horticulture, and public art—and encour- ages people to walk! • (right) Milwaukee Urban Forest Training graduates in trees
Milwaukee, my husband and I found out for ourselves, is not just a major center of sports and beer and the fictional home of Laverne and Shirley. Walking the City and marveling over the beauty of its urban trees, gardens and con- tainer plantings, historic architecture, and River Walk, we were truly blown away. Not even the total lack of sunshine that week dampened our experience of this livable, pedestrian-friendly, green and vibrant city.
Milwaukee's downtown gives new meaning to "revitalized," in no small measure due to the urban forest legacy of its longtime for- mer city forester and ISA President, Bob Skiera, and the vision and dedication of its current one, David Sivyer, who also served ably as conference host.
The conference was the best attended in recent memory and had a full slate of professional presenters who kept us engaged in topics ranging from new tree introductions to leveraging stormwater funding to advance urban forestry goals to uses of hyperspectral imagery in detecting and managing EAB.
One of my best memories was of seeing the urban forest training graduates demonstrate climbing, pruning, and aerial rescue tech-
18 The City of Milwaukee has its own extensive tree nursery. City Trees
niques. None of the students had climbed a tree until they start- ed their training six months ago, and here they were foot-locking their way gracefully up a rope or moving about a tree demon- strating other skills. We only got to spend a few moments with them, but it was a very impressive demo. Here, other attendees reflect on their SMA Milwaukee Conference experience.
—Michelle Sutton, Editor, City Trees
