City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/475555
NYC Parks and Casey Tree staff intermingling • Photo Courtesy Casey Trees The SavATree Consulting Group provides Actionable Tree Intelligence for tree and tree canopy management, including: • Tree canopy assessments • Tree inventories • Tree risk assessments • Tree preservation services For more information about the unique expertise offered by the SavATree Consulting Group, please visit www.savatree.com/ consulting. The SavATree Consulting Group is proud to be a corporate member of the Society of Municipal Arborists. savatree.com Trees | Shrubs | Lawn | Deer | Consulting Envision a Sustainable Future Call today (888) 750-7977 Lessons Learned #2: The return on investment of build- ing a robust network of urban tree advocates/enthusi- asts is unquantifiable. Both public and private urban foresters have to figure out a way to carve out at least five percent of their time to develop a corps of urban tree advocates. As my time in the nation's capital unfurled, I met with staff, from Casey's operation crews to fundraising staff to the executive director, to learn how Casey Trees functions day to day. What became abundantly clear is that the private side of urban forestry is far more agile that the public side. I learned that Casey Trees is able to leverage private dollars or staffing resources to meet an emerging need almost overnight, while I imagined the same change in scope or focus would take no less than six months on the municipal side. It also became clear that municipalities need to leverage the agility of a private or nonprofit firm in unison with their (the munic- ipality's) own larger mission or annual goals. Lessons Learned #3: The future of urban forestry over the next twenty years will be the merging of public policy and resources with the agility of private funding and ideas. When this delicate balance of public and private is effectively orchestrated, the results are clear: a healthier and more long-lived urban forest. In closing, Casey Trees is an amazing organization, working on amazing projects, with an amazingly dedicat- ed staff. It's certain they will continue to be at the fore- front of urban forestry for decades to come. I want to thank the staff of Casey Trees, including Director of Tree Planting Jim Woodworth, and the Society of Municipal Arborists for allowing me to take part in this exchange and want them to know I am sincerely grateful for this experience. www.urban-forestry.com 29