Tree Steward training to take place in Mass.

Tree Steward Training is offered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation's Bureau of Forestry's Urban and Community Forestry Program, the USDA Forest Service, the Massachusetts Tree Wardens and Foresters Association and UMass Extension. It is an annual program designed for community tree board members, tree wardens, tree activists, planners, interested citizens, and other municipal staff and green professionals interested in the topics and issues of urban and community trees and forests.  It will provide foundation training in tree physiology, tree assessment, municipal tree management, and other urban and community forestry issues with the aim of developing better tree stewardship in Massachusetts communities of all sizes.

The 2013 Tree Steward Training will run from 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 25, until 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 26, 8:00am -3:30pm. The location will be Harvard Forest, 324 N. Main Street, Petersham, Mass. 01366.


The Training will include an overview of the following topics:
      1.. Tree Biology, Benefits, and the Urban Environment
      2.. Tree Identification (outdoors, extended session)
      3.. Proper Tree Planting Techniques  (indoors/outdoors)
      4.. Trees and Pruning (outdoors)
      5.. Preserving the Trees We Have: Trees and Construction
      6.. Funding Urban and Community Forestry
      7.. Working with Your Utility Arborist
      8.. Tree Inventories and the i-Tree suite of software tools for urban forestry managers (indoor, plus outdoor field session)
      9.. Roundtable discussion on working with trees and people in your community

Overnight accommodations are available onsite.