City Trees

Tree people are often marked by at least a dash of idealism and a pinch of zeal. Many of us feel that a good urban forest management program stands as the best way to accomplish broad societal benefits. "Trees are the answer!"— we cry, but zeal does not directly translate into accomplish- ment and idealism has the potential to cloud one's vision when complexities arise. How do we most productively apply the science behind and our passion for urban forestry? How do we work towards measur- able and lasting results? How might we take into account the social, infrastructural, and temporal complexities that define our urban environments? These are some of the questions that my Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) experience helped me start to address. I did not come out of the experience with a cut-and-paste prescription for my workflow. Rather, I came out with a more focused approach towards problem solving that I know will serve me for the rest of my career. MFI drove home the reality that different stakeholders will always bring different priorities to the table and that being sensitive to the priorities of others is critical to creating mutual success and lasting partnerships. My work managing a grant-funded residen- tial tree planting program means I face this reality every day. The program's priority is maximum tree canopy increase over the long term, but that is almost never the homeowner's first priority and rarely is it even on their mind. Perhaps their priority is aesthetic appeal, attracting birds, or guaranteeing minimal impact on their nearby structure. MFI helped me hone my instincts towards awareness of a homeowner's many possible priorities and also their possible reservations about trees. Making the effort to recognize the presumptions someone might bring to the table increases the probability of finding a mutually beneficial solution. It is easy to extrapolate this experience out to partnerships with HOA boards, landscape architects, city council members, utility companies, and other urban forest stakeholders. We must also do the hard work of clarifying our goals and what those goals are rooted in. Is our goal measured by the number of trees put in the ground, or is it about sustained canopy increase over the long term? Are we resigned to the drudgery of working with stakeholders who are wary about trees or does our vision include an advocacy effort that could change an appre- hensive stakeholder into a motivated partner? MFI emphasizes the value of purposeful reflection and soul-searching in profes- sional and programmatic pursuits. I was particularly excited about the conceptual learning involved in MFI, but the training provides significant practical knowledge and situational scenarios as well. The other students at MFI were an inspirational group, and I got to work and learn with city foresters, consultants, non-profit folks, former tree climb- ers, and others. The stories shared over the course of the week amounted to an impressive catalog of experiences that I will draw from as I face new situations in my career. I would recommend the MFI experience to anyone who may have grown weary in their profession or has had difficulty forg- ing partnerships across disciplines. If you are someone who has had trouble rooting out organizational dysfunction and deals with poor or non-existent strategic planning, MFI is also for you. If you aspire to be seen as more than a tree geek and to be valued at the policy-making table as a strong three-dimensional thinker, MFI can help you get there. Hold on to your zeal and ide- alism but dig deep and think creatively to determine what real success looks like and how to develop a pragmatic approach to achieving it. I would like to thank my employer Casey Trees for funding my experience at MFI. I would like to thank the Society of Municipal Arborists and the MFI teaching cadre for having the foresight to develop a course like this and the commitment to conducting it in an exper t manner. Good leadership is hard to teach and I have never come across folks doing it better than those at MFI. 24 CityTREES Marty Frye Marty Frye is a native of Washington, D.C., where he works at the urban forestry non-profit Casey Trees as the Arborist for Residential Plantings. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and an ISA qualified Tree Risk Assessor. Reflects on MFI Reflects on MFI

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