THE LEAFLET
UTS is Around the Corner!
Urban Tree Summit is only 3 weeks away! Make sure to get your tickets soon as they are selling fast!
Brought to you by Casey Trees and Montgomery Parks, this year we will be returning to an in-person conference focused on the health and welfare of trees in our increasingly developed landscapes. Learn from our outstanding line-up of industry leading experts on their research and contributions to the field of urban forestry. Plus, get to meet and network with other urban forestry professionals throughout the conference. Or join us for one or more of our field sessions.
Speaking of field sessions at this year’s Urban Tree Summit, we feature several unique experiences with only a few tickets still available. Learn more about these exceptional experiences below.
(Tickets still available!) Introduction to Forest Bathing at Brookside Gardens – Thursday, September 26th | 9:30am – 12:00pm
Join naturalist and Certified Forest Therapy Guide, Ana Ka’ahanui from Capital Nature, for an introduction to forest bathing. “Shinrin-yoku,” or taking in the forest atmosphere with all of your senses, is a way to slow down, unwind and connect to the natural world. Through a series of simple sensory exercises, we’ll be experiencing the wonders of nature with this relaxing mindfulness practice. This Washington Post article will give you a glimpse of a typical forest bathing walk with Ana: Cleansing the soul and restoring the spirit with a spot of forest bathing.
(Tickets still available!) Prince George’s County Champion Tree Bus Tour – Friday, September 20th | 9:00am – 3:00pm
Join Chris Garrett for an exciting tour of Prince George’s County Champion trees. Chris has been a Park Ranger for 24 years and is a tree and forest lover and the self-proclaimed “Prince George’s County Champion Tree Finder.” The tour will feature a selection of impressive champion trees, including some of the largest trees, on record, in the Upper Marlboro area. Participants will travel by van from location to location to view these champion trees. Lunch will be provided.
Assisted Natural Regeneration at Langdon Park: How One Community is Helping its Forest Grow the Next Generation of Trees – Thursday, September 19th | 9:00am – 12:00pm
Listening and Learning from the Forest – New trees are not growing in many city forests. Planting in natural areas that already have an existing forest is expensive, carries environmental costs, and poses ecological risks. Yet, we need to close canopy gaps in existing urban forests and have young trees grow to replace those that die. Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) is an alternative approach to planting trees that addresses the factors preventing regeneration so a forest can regrow. Join the Langdon Park Forest Stewards for this on-site visit to Langdon Park Forest Patch in northeast DC to see this method in action. After 4 years of ANR, there are over 2,000 tagged native tree seedlings representing 18 species.
A Living Monuments Tour: Management and Care of the Significant Trees of DC’s Monumental Core – Tuesday, September 24th | 9:30am – 12:30pm
The urban landscapes of DC’s Monumental Core are some of the most iconic and highly visited landscapes in America. The stewardship of these historical landscapes and the management of the trees that anchor these landscapes is a collaborative cross-jurisdictional effort among many partners. This tour will highlight some of the most significant trees through the eyes of the arborists and urban foresters who care for them. These living monuments –many of them witnesses to the construction of the historic monuments that most come to see—have withstood decades of urban pressures and are positioned to experience unprecedented new stressors of the future. We’ll discuss care and management of these trees as well as the parallel efforts to steward this urban forest as a whole through the 21st century and beyond.
Learn more about this year’s Urban Tree Summit below and be sure to sign up as the event is coming soon!
Urban Tree Summit Agenda
Wednesday, September 18th – Urban Tree Summit Conference
Location: Silver Spring Civic Center, 1 Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Time: 8:00am – 4:00pm
Conference Speakers:
Leslie Berckes, Executive Director of the Urban and Community Forestry Society (UCFS)
“Urban Foresters: Stories from the Front Lines”
Eric Wiseman, PhD, Associate Professor of Urban and Community Forestry, Virginia Tech University & Brian Keightley, Director of Urban Forest Management Division, Fairfax County
“Fairfax County’s Tree Canopy: Examining the Effects of Land Development Regulations on Tree Canopy Conservation”
Nancy Falxa Sonti, PhD, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station at USDA Forest Service
“Selection in the City: A Nursery Supply Chain Analysis Explores Domestic Selection of Baltimore’s Trees”
Asia L. Dowtin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Urban Forestry, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University
“Right Tree, Right Trait: Insights on Selecting Trees to Optimize Ecosystem Service Provision in Our Cities”
Richard Hauer, Director of Urban Forestry at Eocene Environmental Group and Professor Emeritus of Urban Forestry at the University of Wisconsin
“Growing Resilient Trees and Urban Forests Through Standards of Care”
Urban Tree Summit is an exceptional opportunity for arborists, professionals in the landscape, environmental, and green industries, engineers, designers, housing developers, and interested citizens alike, to take advantage of opportunities to learn from experts, experienced peers, and our local, tree-focused, and mission-driven organizations.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be awarded by renowned organizations, including the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), MD Licensed Tree Expert (MD LTE), and Society of American Foresters (SAF). Participants can earn CEUs for both the field sessions and the virtual session. Further details regarding the exact number of CEUs will be provided soon.
See you this September!