February 2020 Note from the Chairs

In This Issue:

  • Details on our upcoming Annual Meeting, including our four Networking Initiative Collaborators
  • US involvement in the One Trillion Trees Initiative
  • Capitol Hill briefing on UCF hosted by the National Association of State Foresters

SUFC’s 15th Annual Meeting Set for March 4

SUFC will be hosting its 15th Annual Meeting on March 4, 2020, from 9 to 5pm, at the University of Virginia Darden Sands Family Grounds in Arlington, Virginia. Please register today, as space is filling quickly. 

Our two themes for this year’s meeting are:

1) Creative Funding Strategies for Urban & Community Forestry; and

2) New Technologies for Urban Forestry.

We are pleased to announce our four Collaborators for the Meeting’s Networking Initiative. We believe their projects will help to inspire the SUFC membership and the broader UCF community at large to think outside of traditional mechanisms.

Following our meeting, we will hold a reception at the U.S. Botanic Garden from 6 to 8pm. Please RSVP here to attend. 

SUFC launched a new initiative for this year’s meeting – inviting students (18 years or older) and young professionals who are pursuing careers in fields related to urban forestry to attend the 15th Annual Meeting and engage with SUFC members. Applications are currently being reviewed.

Trump Announces US Will Join One Trillion Trees Initiative

On January 21, President Trump announced that the United States would join the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Trees Initiative. The initiative is designed to help combat climate change and began after an ecologist last year claimed that planting one trillion trees could neutralize carbon dioxide emissions. SUFC is strategizing with fellow stakeholders on implementation.

National Association of State Foresters Holds Briefing on Capitol Hill

On February 12, the National Association of State Foresters held a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss the benefits urban and community trees provide and the ways state foresters are working to restore their health and resilience across the country. State foresters from Nebraska, Virginia, and South Dakota discussed real-world examples of what state forestry agencies do and explained how the Urban and Community Forestry Program supports their work.