ing negative feelings about workers
as discussed above.
My interest in urban forestr y
revolves around stories—people,
trees, and the places each inhabit.
I'm particularly interested in the
notion of familiarity and how that
stirs affect and motivates action. I
am also interested in the connec
-
tions between greenspaces and
public health, particularly mental
health. As such, I'm interested in
continuing to contribute to the dis
-
courses of urban forestry and arbo-
riculture by sharing social narra-
tives that came out of my doctoral
research through various methods,
and by conducting new research
with interested collaborators. It is
important to me to share the sto
-
ries of my participants because
they raise significant issues in the
fields of urban forestry and arbori-
culture that are rarely discussed.
Like my participants, I want to see
the trade of arboriculture and the
provision of tree services move
from voluntary to mandatory licens-
ing under the Canadian College of
Trades and Ministry of Labour. This
will take time and more discus-
sion to balance disparate needs
and interests. There is a strong
feeling that mandatory certifica-
tion towards a
Red Seal Trade will
encourage proper urban forest
maintenance as well as garner pub-
lic respect for the profession.
Lastly, I would like to inspire inter-
est in younger generations to see
arboriculture and urban forestry as
a career they will want to pursue.
I hope to see more efforts for col
-
laborative and inclusive education,
such as the partnership between
Sir Sandford Fleming College and
the University of New Brunswick
and more formal urban forestry
programs such as the
Bachelor in
Urban Forestry at the University of
British Columbia.
Photo by: Julian Ambrosii
