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/723399
bi-monthly to an Urban Forest Task Force. This group of commu- nity volunteers partners with the City's Public Works Department to execute the Urban Forest Master Plan. They are of great assistance in supporting the preservation and enhancement of the urban forest resource. Do you work within a team of dedicated urban for- estry staff? MW: Despite being a small city, the public tree population is quite large. I am fortunate to work with an excellent team of dedicated urban forestry staff within the City's Public Works Department that includes two Urban Forest Supervisors and two Tree Trimmers. We also use a contractor to assist with our tree work operations. In a typical year we will: • Prune over 9,000 trees • Plant nearly 600 new trees • Remove approximately 400 trees • Respond to nearly 1,000 customer service requests • Review over 400 plans for construction projects potentially impacting trees One of the first five trees selected for Santa Monica's Heritage Tree Program is a century-old Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) affectionately dubbed "Morty." City of Santa Monica, California Quick Facts Human Population: 92,987 Street Tree Population: 29,102 Park Tree Population: 4,382 Number of Forestry Staff: 5 Did your community have a favorable reaction to your SMA Accreditation? What local press did you receive? MW: An article ran in the local paper, the Santa Monica Mirror. We also had the award presented at a recent Urban Forest Task Force meeting. The award was very well received and acted as positive recognition of the efforts being made to optimize the management of the City's urban forest. What are some specific ways you involve the public? MW: In addition to bimonthly Urban Forest Task Force meet- ings, which are open to the public, we hold an annual Arbor Day event and have launched a Heritage Tree Program based on nominations from the community. We are active on social media (@SMTrees on Facebook and @ santamonicapubliclandscape on Instagram) and field tree-related customer service requests from the City's Government Outreach system on a daily basis. How do you evaluate your street/parkway trees and what are your species diversity goals? MW: We are currently in the process of updating the 2011 www.urban-forestry.com 19