T
he Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) 2018
took place at Wisdom House Retreat and
Conference Center in the bucolic town of
Litchfield, Connecticut. On arrival, the class
was greeted by a scene from a Norman
Rockwell painting or a Robert Frost poem.
Snow-covered stone walls hemmed hillsides
where maple tree sap was collected to be
boiled down into delicious maple syrup in
the sugar shack at the edge of the forest.
At this first-ever New England MFI I could
be heard saying, "This is a lucky class."
Ironically, the lucky class was in the 13th
year of MFI, which was founded in 2006.
Here, not in any particular order, are
just a few of the fortunate occurrences
we experienced at Wisdom House.
In the early days of MFI, the Teaching Cadre
learned that the intense pace of the program
meant that everyone benefited from a free
afternoon on Wednesdays. Typically for New
England in February, the weather was mostly
cold and snowy. However, Tuesday evening
saw unusually warm weather moving in, >>
Congrats to the MFI 2018 grads! Photo by Paul Ries
The picturesque
site of MFI 2018
was Wisdom
House Retreat
and Conference
Center in
Litchfield,
Connecticut.
Photo by Owen
Croy
MFI 2018 Builds Urban Forestry
By Andy Hillman, MFI Teaching Cadre Member and Past SMA President
18 CityTREES
