Citizen Forester

Be a Citizen Forester!

Learn how to care for trees and become a true steward of the urban forest. Citizen Foresters who complete the three two-hour class sessions gain the knowledge it takes to select, plant and care for healthy urban trees -- and to pass that wisdom on to others. The classes are taught by certified arborists following the principle to plant the "right tree in the right place" based on guidelines established by the International Society of Arboriculture.

Citizen Foresters are also empowered to check on trees distributed through the TreeKeepers campaign. With regular observations to monitor health and growth, we aim to keep tabs on every tree distributed through the TreeKeepers program and use the information to become more skilled guardians of the urban forest.

HOW TO APPLY

If you're interested, let us know with an email to [email protected] (space are limited). 

 

 Handouts:

How to plant a tree from the International Society of Arboriculture.

One-page brief on why we care about the urban forest.

 

City Arborist Bill Stephen explains proper tree planting techniques to the first Citizen Forester training group.

Citizen Foresters get hands-on experience planting trees in Oak Park.

A key message from the first course: "We live in a rain forest." To prove it, we went out into the rain to help grow the forest.