Alliance for Community Trees Day

Location: Empire Ballroom

^{Matt Spitsen, Arbor Day Foundation}

Location: Empire Ballroom

Nausheen Iqbal, USDA Forest Service

Michael Davidson, Openlands

The Roots to Chicago’s Tree Ambassador Program

^{Melinda Escobar, Morton Arboretum
Raed Mansour, Chicago Department of Public Health}

Summary: This presentation will go over the Tree Ambassador Program (TAP), a unique tailored program to the City of Chicago. It is a collaborative effort between the City of Chicago, The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI), and community organizations. Its aim is to boost resident support for expanding tree canopy, advocacy, and engagement in key areas. The TAP grant offers funding and training to empower community groups in enhancing their ability to champion trees within their networks.

Starting the Seed in Cleveland’s Workforce

^{Amanda Wood, Holden Forests & Gardens}

Summary: Standing at a stark 18% canopy cover, Cleveland, OH has a goal to increase tree canopy to 30% by 2040. Meeting this goal will require serious time, funds, and trained people working together.

Holden Forests & Gardens, an arboretum in NE Ohio, meets this need with Tree Corps CREW, a paid work program which cares for trees while creating opportunities for underserved communities to learn arboriculture skills. This program is an example which could be mirrored elsewhere to improve training and engage communities in creating sustainable tree canopy.

Miyawaki in Detroit, Michigan

^{Fai Foen & Christina Ridella, The Greening of Detroit
Kate Gmyrek, City of Detroit}

Summary: As part of the City of Detroit’s pilot Nature Pockets Program, environmental non-profit The Greening of Detroit advocated for a Miyawaki Forest (bareroot) to be installed in a large field behind Lasky Recreation Center, in addition to a larger tree (1.5” caliper) and meadow installation to create two distinct woodland developmental patterns. The bareroot tree and shrub Miyawaki Forest was installed in May 2024. We hope to share this project to contribute to the collective research of afforestation projects in the Midwest United States.

Urban Forestry in the Great Lakes Region Q&A

Location: Empire Ballroom

Research Where You Live, Learn, Work, and Play

^{Phil Rodbell, USDA Forest Service}
Summary: This presentation will introduce the work of USDA Forest Service Urban Field Stations and the 60+ research scientists who are focused on urban forest sustainability. This work includes the study and publication of findings and tools on ecosystem management, tree canopy assessment, stewardship activities, local governance, and data collection in collaboration with universities, governments, and community-based organizations. Participants will learn how to engage, partner with, and leverage the work of scientists in support of urban and community forestry and organizational sustainability.

Adapting Tree Planting Methods for a Changing Climate

^{Valerie Tamburri, TreeFolks}
Summary: Extreme weather events and prolonged drought impact tree planting projects across Central Texas. The TreeFolks reforestation team is experimenting with various approaches to boost tree survival despite the odds.

Forgotten Homes: The Making of a Resilient Community

^{Joe Wheelock, Bridging the Gap}
Summary: In order to plant trees to create a community that can handle extreme weather we must address the challenges and barriers that compete with the desire from utilities, municipalities and governmental liaison agencies to plant trees. We have identified several community strategies that have provided some success both short and long-term. Creating communities that are green, healthy, and thriving has required Bridging The Gap to build relationships with nontraditional partners and commit to building authentic relationships.

Resilient Communities Q&A

Location: Empire Ballroom

Trees are People Too: Tracking Trees Through a CRM

^{David Meshoulam, Speak for the Trees}
Summary: Tracking the condition, size, and location of trees - whether they be planted trees or trees given away - is always a challenge. This is especially true when trees are distributed across communities and have different tree "owners". This presentation explores how Speak for the Trees developed a tree-tracking system within its Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) system to connect trees to people and track trees' location and health.

Engage with MyTree and OurTrees

^{Ana Castillo, The Davey Institute}
Summary: Getting people excited about trees - or let's face it: getting them on board to better understand tree benefits - can be a daunting task. i-Tree has two free and easy-to-use tools to help you engage with audiences and potential stakeholders. Both tools provide quick estimates on carbon dioxide mitigation, storm water impacts, and air pollution removal. MyTree works at the ground level with individual trees while OurTrees looks at the canopy across entire communities. Both tools can be useful self-discovery tools as well as provide guided interactions.

Armenia Tree Project’s Community Tree Planting Initiative: Innovation Revitalizes Communities

^{Jeanmarie Papelian, Armenia Tree Project}

Trees and Technology Q&A

Location: Honore Ballroom

Location: Empire Ballroom

Growing an Urban Forestry Program

^{Mark Cassini & Josh Weiner, Community Greening}
Summary: Exploring strategies on developing a successful urban forestry campaign. We'll explore tactics to increasing involvement in tree planting initiatives, which includes learning from established ACT organizations and developing planting programs, to engagement and marketing strategies. Learn practical insights and actionable takeaways to boost participation, attract volunteers and donors, and increase organization & mission awareness.

Organizing Your Tree Distribution

^{Lauren Jones, Shreveport Green}
Summary: Step by step discussion on the best ways to set up and efficiently flow tree distribution projects. We will be drawing from our experiences and applying our best practices.

The Soil Soldiers

^{Jaffee Judah & Candice Evans, Recycle & Reinvest}
Summary: The Soil Soldiers is a program under Recycle and Reinvest led by Jaffee Judah. It engages youth in environmental stewardship and green career opportunities. Through activities like planting trees, content creation, and soil science, the program aims to empower underserved youth and those impacted by the justice system to become community leaders.

The Push for Healthier, Longer-Lived Trees in the Urban Core

^{Alex Beasley, Trees Atlanta}
Summary: An exploration of Trees Atlanta's push for a stronger tree ordinance and the subsequent effect it's had on our various planting programs.

Cross-Sector Lessons in Urban Orcharding

^{Ashley Williamson, The Giving Grove}

^{Kate Conner, Food Well Alliance}

Summary: Perennial edibles in the form of fruit and nut trees and berries are becoming more common in urban food forests and gardens. Through little orchards, and engagement and collaboration with local foresters and partners, we can engage our local communities in learning and caring about our urban landscape beyond garden spaces and protecting the health our existing urban forests. Join us and hear about some of our lessons learned, and how we can be more collaborative and aware by working together.

Urban Forestry Programs Q&A

Tree Nursery Lessons Learned

^{Moderator: Danielle Crumrine, Tree Pittsburgh}

^{Megan Palomo, Tree Pittsburgh}

^{Mark Cassini, Community Greening}

^{Jake Roeckle, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri}

^{Kyle Derr, Casey Trees}

Summary: There is a growing need for diverse tree stock in cities across the nation, and a number of ACT member organizations responded by starting their own tree nursery. Four experienced panelists will share their nursery stories and discuss lessons learned along the way. Each panelist will explain their unique perspectives and tree growing strategies to inspire and empower other organizations with their successful models.

Location: Honore Ballroom

Location: Empire Ballroom

Community-Guided Strategies for Shade Equity

^{Eileen Garcia & Mary Hillemeier, TreePeople}
Summary: TreePeople developed urban forest management plans that integrated community-guided strategies toward building shade equity. Workshops that included hands-on activities was fundamental in guiding urban forest management strategies though a climate and human health framework. We will present the workshop process, our findings, and emergent strategies. Further, we will discuss how community organizers of tree planting activities convert these strategies into on the ground decisions and actions.

Holistic Urban Forestry – Public Engagement from Seed-Slab

^{Jessica Sanders, Sacramento Tree Foundation}
Summary: A frequent barrier to participation in urban forestry using Maslow's hierarchy of needs requires a high level of fulfillment to create green communities. While many try to create inclusive urban forestry programs without multiple entry points for engagement, learning, and participation - the best intentions fall flat. The Sacramento Tree Foundation has refreshed its programs to care for the community of trees and our staff. Cultivating an inclusive urban forestry model from seed to slab in the Sacramento region.

People-Powered Community Forests

^{Amos White, 100k Trees for Humanity}
Summary: If it takes a village to raise a child, What does it take to raise a tree? Hear from 100K Trees for Humanity founder and Chief Planting Officer Amos White, on how their nonprofit is raising thousands of community trees in a people powered citizen driven campaign to plant California's municipal urban tree canopies to 30% for climate, for equity, and for public health by 2030.

Engaging Diverse Communities in Urban and Community Forestry: Lessons and Strategies from ACT Members

^{Dr. Christine Carmichael, Fair Forest Consulting}
Summary: Summary: From intentional partnerships with communities and corporations to facilitating dialogue between renters and property owners about trees, ACT member organizations are seeing success with a range of engagement strategies. This presentation will summarize some of the approaches to engaging diverse communities that are working–and some reflection questions that will help them adapt as needed.

Environmental Justice Q&A

Scott Jamieson, Bartlett Tree Experts

Matt Spitsen, Arbor Day Foundation

Location: Honore Ballroom