Mike Galvin to Contribute to Research on Advancing the Urban Forestry Profession

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — BEDFORD HILLS, NY—October 14, 2014 – Mike Galvin has been appointed to the steering committee for Urban Forestry 2020, a multi-state research and networking project examining the challenges faced by the urban forestry profession and devising strategies for advancing the profession.

Urban forestry is the management of trees and greenspaces in communities to enhance quality of life and protect the environment. It has advanced rapidly as a profession over the last 20 years. The steering committee will bring together leaders in urban forestry and related fields such as urban planning, landscape architecture, and civil engineering to examine recruitment into urban forestry, accreditation of university urban forestry degree programs, and professional credentialing and networking of urban foresters.

Mike Galvin will be representing the perspective of Consulting Arborists and serve as a liaison to The American Society of Consulting Arborists for this project, which is led by researchers in Virginia Tech’s Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation with co-investigators from the University of Maryland, West Virginia University, and Virginia State University.

Director of The Consulting Group at SavATree, Galvin observed, “Urban forestry is a growing and dynamic field. Urban foresters not only need to know a lot about trees but also how to read engineering plans and develop and implement tree protection plans, how to write and implement tree protection laws, and how to work with agencies and tree commissions. Identifying who urban foresters are, what they do, and how they work will hopefully help us to reach new, diverse audiences and connect them to new career opportunities.”

The project aims to develop recommendations and strategies for enhancing the visibility and standing of the urban forestry profession by 2017. Urban Forestry 2020 is partially funded by the U.S. Forest Service through the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council.

According to project leader Susan Day, “The beauty of the urban forestry profession is its interdisciplinary nature. People from diverse backgrounds work together to solve problems with a critical urban natural resource that has a big impact on our day-to-day lives. But the field’s interdisciplinary nature is also a challenge when it comes to networking and education, and the profession is experiencing some growing pains.”

Visit the project website (urbanforestry.frec.vt.edu/2020) or contact Susan Day at [email protected] for more information.

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