34 City Trees
Longtime former Los Angeles Chief of Forestry George Gonzalez led a "fire-
side chat" for participants. Photo by Owen Croy
MFI provided a real boost for me
at a time of transition in my workplace.
The teachings on leadership, strategic
planning, communication, and collabo-
ration were very valuable. I will be inte-
grating and applying some of these in
my work going forward. This is excellent
training for people in any field relating
to urban forestry at any stage in their
career, but the sooner you go, the better!
—Tom Witmer, Director of Natural
Resources, Philadelphia Parks and
Recreation
Showtime! The opening session of MFI 2017. Photo by Owen Croy
Initially, I was not sure how my
experience would be utilized during Peer
Learning Group activities and exercises
but eventually I was able to contribute
and that felt really great. Even though
most of these topics are geared toward
municipal foresters, I feel like I can
impart some of my knowledge to the cit-
ies and towns across my state. Thanks!
—Tara Costanzo, Community
Resource Forester, Wyoming State
Forestry Division
