What is Urban Forestry?

 Now that a better understanding of the urban forest has been established and what it provides people, some thoughts might come to mind such as, “If the urban forest is so important, how is it taken care of?” or “ What can be done to care for the trees that provide human beings so much?  Luckily, there is a whole field dedicated to caring for and maintaining the urban forest known as urban forestry. Although, it can sound self-explanatory there are many aspects that go into this area of work to care for the urban forest people live in. In short, urban forestry is the management, maintenance, and planning of trees and vegetation of the urban forest. Urban forestry encompasses everything from planting, pruning, selecting, site planning, and policymaking of trees in urban environments. These aspects of urban forestry are usually determined by figuring out the benefits of trees in the urban forest discussed in the last post. In addition to these aspects, urban forestry is not just the care for trees and deciding where to plant them in the urban environment it is also pushing the importance of trees in the urban environment by creating tree ordinances, management plans, and policies. 

Urban forestry is a multidisciplinary field that brings together the natural sciences, social sciences, and city planning ( Ries,2021). Many professional fields come together to make up the urban forestry field the main being, forestry, horticulture/arboriculture, urban planning, and landscape architect (Ries, 2021). All of these fields come together in urban forestry so the urban forest can be cared for, and in order to do this, it requires social and political backings to advocate and push for the expense of that care and to make sure the care can be successfully done. A lot of people view trees as a problem, nuisance, or risk urban forestry helps change this perspective by: 

• Helping communities write, implement, and update urban forest management plans. 

• Writing and implementing tree ordinances 

• Creating tree inventories

• Determining tree benefits( and risks) in specific areas or for certain tree species

• Educating civilians on how to care for the urban forest and what it is

• Planting, pruning, or removing certain trees 

• Securing funding for urban forestry plans 

• Making sure the right trees are planted in the right sites ( Right tree,right place) 

This list above is to not only explain some of the responsibilities of an urban forester, or individuals working in the urban forestry field but to create a better picture of what urban forestry is. Urban forestry is a branch of forestry that helps maintain the urban forest and landscapes people live in by creating policies, designs, and plans to care for the urban forest in a way that brings people the most values socially, environmentally, and economically while also educating people on what urban forestry is and why it is important. This video, "Urban Forestry as a career" helps sum all of these thoughts up:

Citation: Ries, P. (2021)  Oregon State University Lecture Video. Week 3 Technical Foundations of Urban forestry. Retrieved November 28, 2021.