You are here

Community Forestry Conversation and Coffee Report

American Public Gardens Association annual conference, June 2019

ArbNet hosted a special session at the American Public Gardens Association annual conference in Washington, D.C., which focused on the important role that botanic gardens and arboreta can play in community forestry efforts. This networking event and interactive discussion was led by panelists Nicole Cavender (The Morton Arboretum), David Burke (The Holden Arboretum), Scott Jamieson (Bartlett Tree) and Greg Levine (Trees Atlanta). Nearly 50 people attended the session, including representatives from a range of arboreta and gardens, government agencies, and conservation NGOs, as well as many green industry professionals. The lively discussion covered topics such as, how attendees' respective institutions were engaging in community forestry, the obstacles hindering their participation, and what resources are most needed to support engagement. Models of success were presented from many attendees. A survey was conducted to gauge how the attendees were already participating in community forestry initiatives. The following graphics illustrate the results of that survey.