THE LEAFLET

November 29, 2021 /
Jona Elwell

We Love Working with Old Friends

It’s no secret that we’re close partners with the city’s Urban Forestry Division. As the steward of the city’s nearly ~190,000 public trees and has a mission of keeping this resource healthy, safe, & growing. Specifically, they handle the planting, maintenance, and removal of trees in the right of way, the (often green and grassy) area between the street and sidewalk. We’re also dedicated to helping them reach their goal: 40% canopy cover in DC by 2032.

It’s also no secret that Urban Forestry is a bit of an unusual field. Sure, we bring together folks from all walks of life – landscape architects, city planners, transportation designers, business owners, residents, houses of worship – because trees don’t exist in a vacuum. They exist in a living, breathing, changing city. Therefore it should be unsurprising that one of the reasons we work so well with the Urban Forestry Division is because some of their city arborists got their start at Casey Trees! Case in point: Maddy.

Originally in the Education department masterminding Community Tree Plantings, classes, and other assorted volunteer events, Maddy was eager to use her more technical background at Casey Trees. That brought her away from the execution and volunteer management side of things to the Tree Operations team where she applied her botanical knowledge to help plan plantings for communities and residents alike. About her time here, Maddy noted, “Casey Trees was a great place to start my urban forestry journey in DC. I loved getting to work with all kinds of volunteers and project organizers from every corner of the city.”

Maddy took the experience she learned at Casey Trees and brought it to the District. Literally! As a city arborist for the Urban Forestry Division of DDOT, she is one of the folks who tend our city’s trees by pruning and proper planning of where trees should be planted in public spaces.

As we mentioned though, city arborists don’t work in a vacuum because trees don’t exist in a vacuum. While out and about pruning, inventorying, or consulting about street trees, Maddy and other arborists often interact with members of the public curious about what they’re up to. “I’m definitely spending more time with trees than people,” Maddy told us, “but being out and about tending to street trees in Ward 1 also gives me a chance to interact with curious people in an organic, spontaneous way. They see us pruning or inspecting trees and I have a chance to educate them a little bit on what city arborists and UFD does.” Her experience interacting with volunteers and explaining the ins and outs of urban forestry in DC at our classes provided much needed content and practice.

Curious about what else our city arborists do? Check out our profile of the Urban Forestry Division or perhaps take a walk on the wild side with ward arborists. Want to get your start at Casey Trees and contribute to our mission to restore, enhance, and protect the tree canopy of our nation’s capital? Check out our open positions and view application details.