City Trees

Getting to Know Board Member Darren Green Can you tell us about your educational trajectory? Darren Green: I received an Associate Degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1987 and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University in 1992. What has been your career trajectory? DG: I started my career as a design director at Baton Rouge Green, a non-profit urban forestry advocacy and educational organization. I moved back to my home town of Alexandria, Louisiana in 1995 and worked as a landscape architect for several private practices. In 2001, the City of Alexandria hired me as their landscape architect and urban forester. Please tell us about your position now. DG: My duties are split about 50-50 between urban forest- er and landscape architect, although sometimes the line between the two gets a bit blurry. My primary role consists of designing projects such as parks and streetscapes either in-house or in conjunction with other consultant landscape architects and engineers. I also do most of the planting design for our municipal facility projects. As urban forester I inspect all tree related complaints, develop work plans for maintaining City trees, and manage our private tree trimming and removal contractors. What is Alexandria known for? DG: We are a small city of about 50,000 but are the major retail and commercial center in a region of even smaller towns and villages. Our City's main population boom occurred during World War II and in the early 1960s; consequently, most of our older residential areas are full of mature canopy trees. How long have you been involved in SMA and what has your involvement meant to you? DG: I have been involved with the SMA for about ten years. I currently serve on the SMA Board as liaison to the Communications Committee. Municipal urban forestry is a fairly specialized profession and at times one can feel very isolated and alone. SMA offers an opportunity for exchange of ideas and best practices among peers. My most valuable experience to date with SMA is the Municipal Forestry Institute, a program that develops lead- ership skills needed to succeed in today's competitive work environment. What aspect of municipal arboriculture do you find most challenging? DG: The general lack of knowledge of and apathy towards urban trees by the general public is very frustrating. It is getting better, but we still have a long way to go. How do you manage fluctuating resources in your program? DG: Our funds come primarily from sales tax receipts so our budget fluctuates annually depending upon the economy. We have found that using private contractors to do our tree main- tenance and removals allows us to get the most "bang for the buck" and gives us the flexibility of easily expanding and con- tracting our program. What do you like to do in your free time? DG: What free time? I am somewhat hyper so I don't really allow myself a lot of free time. Recently, I have become heavily involved in our local Kiwanis Club helping kids from low-income neighbor- hoods. This really helps me keep things in perspective. SMA Board Member Darren Green has been the City of Alexandria, Louisiana Landscape Architect and Urban Forester since 2001. Photo by: City of Alexandria, LA 22 City Trees

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