April 2025

Stronger Together: Managing Urban Trees in the Face of Storms

Dr. Mysha Clarke

University of Florida

School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatic Sciences

Research shows that there is an increase in the number, frequency, and intensity of storms globally. Urban areas face unique risks from more intense weather events like hurricanes, ice storms, and associated flooding and wind damage. In addition, these storm events are more pronounced in urban areas that are already grappling with rapid population growth, aging infrastructure, and ongoing urbanization. While urban trees are critical for the provisioning of ecosystem services, professionals have varied perceptions of the risks they pose, making this an important but understudied area of urban forest management.

This study assessed the risk perceptions of various professionals – including urban foresters, utility workers, municipal arborists, and private consultants - explored opportunities to reduce conflict and enhance collaboration when managing urban trees. We conducted mixed methods approach, including seventeen semi-structured interviews with professionals in Jacksonville, Philadelphia Minneapolis and Boston, and a nationwide survey of urban forestry related professionals.

Our interview results revealed that urban forestry professionals have varied – at times conflicting - goals, priorities, approaches and perceptions of urban trees and storm-related risks. The most common challenge of managing urban trees during and after storms include disruptions to work schedule, interrupted workflow, insufficient staff, and overall limited resources. Interviewees also explained the legacy impacts of aging infrastructure, restricted access to work sites, and differing agency objectives, all of which make tree management for storm-related tree management more demanding. These constraints limit collaboration efforts and highlight the need to strengthen communication, dialogue and cooperation between the various professionals and their affiliations to improve preparedness for future storm events and ensure more effective urban tree management.

This research was funded by a 2021 grant from TREE Fund's Bob Skiera Memorial Fund Building Bridges and made successful through collaborators including Dr. Stephanie Cadaval (former PhD candidate whose dissertation work focused on this project at the University of Florida), Dr. Andrew Koeser (University of Florida), Dr. Lara Roman (U.S. Forest Service), Dr. Tenley Conway (University of Toronto – Mississauga), and Dr. Theodore Eisenman (University of Massachusetts-Amherst).

Citation for more information: Cadaval, S., Clarke, M., Roman, L. A., Conway, T. M., Koeser, A. K., & Eisenman, T. S. (2024). Managing urban trees through storms in three United States cities. Landscape and Urban Planning, 248, 105102.

Hear more about Dr. Clarke's research during our TREE Fund Webinar in May. See below for registration information.

Lead Donors

We are deeply grateful to the following people and organizations whose accumulated contributions to TREE Fund in 2025 surpassed $2,500 or more as of March:

Altec/ Styslinger Foundation, Inc.

ArborMetrics Solutions, Inc.

Bandit Industries, Inc.

Bartlett Tree Experts

Lewis Tree Service

North Coast Holdings, Inc.

Christian Siewert

Jeffrey Wilson

See the full list of lead donors who make our vital tree research and education work possible on our website.

Tour des Trees 2025: Deadline to Register is June 10!

We'd love to see you join us for a beautiful ride at this year's Tour des Trees and the deadline to register is coming up soon!

Register by June 10 and join us in Michigan this August for a ride highlighting the trees, paths, dunes, and lakeside views of Michigan, August 10-16.

The Tour des Trees is more than just a fundraiser that support TREE Fund's grant and scholarship programs, it is also our largest outreach event of the year and a way to educate the public about the importance of tree research and caring for the trees in our communities. Join the movement and get moving (on your bike) by riding with us this year!

Dates: August 10-16. Five riding days; partial options available.

Location: Starts and ends in Grand Rapids.

Deadline to register: June 10.

For information: Visit www.treefund.org/tourdestrees

To register or to make a donation: Visit www.tourdestrees.org

Are you a Michigan-based company or organization? We are currently working on scheduling engagement stops along the route and we want to visit you! If you are in the northwest Michigan area and would like to be involved with the ride, email Jonathan at jcain@treefund.org to see about community engagement opportunities near you.

TREE Fund's 2025 Free Webinar Series

We are excited to continue to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of our TREE Fund Webinar series with free webinars available to the public based on research funded by TREE Fund grants. Thanks to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System for helping us again with these videos.

Mark your calendars for our next webinars!

May 6, 2025. Noon CT.

Presenter: Mysha Clarke and Stephanie Cadaval

Presentation: Enhancing collaboration amongst urban forest stakeholders – An assessment of natural hazard risk perceptions in relation to the services and disservices of city trees

Registration link: Click here to register for this webinar

October 14, 2025. Noon CT.

Presenter: JD Brown

Presentation: Policy Strategies to Value and Retain Mature Urban Trees on Private Lands

Registration link: Click here to register for this webinar

See our Webinar page for more information. https://treefund.org/webinars

TREE Fund’s 1-hour webinars are free and offer 1.0 CEU credit for live broadcasts from the International Society of Arboriculture and the Society of American Foresters. Registration and information will become available on our website approximately two weeks before each webinar date.

Missed a webinar? Watch it anytime on our website. You can also subscribe to our YouTube page.

TREE Fund Fall 2024 Grant Recipients

TREE Fund is proud to announce its Fall 2024 Grant Cycle recipients. https://treefund.org/archives/22906

Altogether, over $114,800 in research grant money is being awarded.

The following projects were awarded grants during the Fall 2024 application cycle:

Hyland R. Johns Grant:

Daniel Burcham of Colorado State University

“Developing Improved Methods for Assessing the Structural Integrity of Decayed Trees.”

John Z. Duling Grant:

Caleb Wilson of the University of Kentucky

“Ability of Ant Exclusion via Basal Trunk Insecticide Sprays to Sustainably Manage Scale Insect Infestations in Urban Landscape Trees.”

Jack Kimmel International Grant:

Anirban Guha of the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research Thiruvananthapuram

“Good Functional and Early Warning Indicators of Urban Mangrove Health.”

Safe Arborist Techniques Fund Grant:

Lawrence Kahn of Tulane University Law School Utility Vegetation Management Institute

“Enhancing the ANSI Z133 Safety Standard’s Effectiveness with Case Studies.”

Tree and Soil Research Fund Grant:

Gail Langellotto of Oregon State University

“Evaluating the Long-term Impact of Tree Preservation on Soil Health During Residential Subdevelopment Construction.”



Bob Skiera Memorial Fund Building Bridges Initiative and John P. White Grant:

Dr. Kirsten Schwarz of The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles

“Building Equitable Campus Canopy Across California: Building the Stakeholders Who Design, Plant, and Maintain Public School Trees.”

Did You Know: TREE Fund Grant Evaluation Process

Ad-hoc committees from TREE Fund's Research and Development are currently reviewing and scoring all the grant and scholarship applications received during our spring 2025 cycle. 22 volunteers - consisting of researchers, practitioners, and other professionals - spend three to eight hours each reviewing individual applications and ranking them on a scale before discussing each application's score and details. Committee members remain anonymous and change each cycle so that different trains of thoughts are represented.

After the different committees discuss the applications and come to a consensus, they make their recommendation to the TREE Fund Board for final approval before the grant is awarded.

New Social Media. Follow us!

TREE Fund is now on BlueSky! Go to our page and follow us for even more access to TREE Fund news and information.

TREE Fund on BlueSky

Virtual Tour des Trees: Your Tour, Your Pace, Your Backyard.

Can't make it to Michigan this year? Participate virtually and still support TREE Fund. Sign up for the Virtual Tour des Trees at home, set a fitness goal and ride, walk, run, or swim in your neighborhood.

Register and hit fundraiser tiers to earn apparel prizes! See www.treefund.org/virtual-ride-option for details.

Companies: Team opportunities are also available which make for great teambuilding activities. Set up a team and work together to achieve fitness and fundraising goals. Contact Jonathan at jcain@treefund.org for details.

Students: Want to be a part of the Virtual Tour des Trees and get connected to professionals in the industry? Register and we'll pair you up with a Tour des Trees rider that works in the tree care industry as part of our Rider Buddy program. Connections are always valuable! Reduced fundraising goals for students to earn prizes.

Risk Assessment Survey

TREE Fund Communication Committee member Alex Martin is organizing a research survey on tree risk assessments and is looking for responses. Please see details below and reply to the survey if the details apply to you.

Are you an arborist or urban forester who conducts tree risk assessments?

Researchers from the Universities of Toronto, Florida, and Wisconsin-Stevens Point are researching how arborists perceive the likelihood of failure of included bark. They've put together a survey with scenarios and photos and are looking for tree care professionals to rate the likelihood of failure. As an incentive, you have the option to enter a draw for one of ten $100 USD gift cards to an arborist supply store!

Please feel free to distribute this survey to other arborists who might be interested in taking the survey! Any comments or questions can be directed to the principal investigator, Alexander Martin (University of Toronto – Mississauga) at alexjf.martin@mail.utoronto.ca.

The link to the anonymous survey can be found here: Risk Assessment Survey

Award Congratulations

Congratulations to TREE Fund Crown Partner Bartlett Tree Experts who received ArborAWARDS™ Service Tree Award in recognition of Bartlett’s Legacy Tree Program.

Celebrating its 11^th anniversary this year, the Bartlett Legacy Tree Program has distributed more than 775,000 tree seedlings in communities since the program began in 2014, representing a commitment of 14,000 hours and $2.4 million.

Congratulations also to previous TREE Fund grant awardee Dr. John Ball, Ph.D. who reveived The Robert Bartlett Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Named for Robert A. Bartlett, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bartlett Tree Expert, the ArborAWARDS™ recognition is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the tree care industry.



Dr. Ball, a renowned tree care industry safety expert and professor of forestry at South Dakota State University, is also the South Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Forest Health Specialist. As a TCIA Certified Tree Care Safety Professional (CTSP), TCIA Qualified Trainer, and ISA Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA), Dr. Ball is committed to enhancing safety standards in the tree care industry. He also serves on the ANSI Safety Committee and is an Advanced EMT, bringing extensive expertise to his role in promoting tree worker safety.

TREE Fund

Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund

1755 Park St. Suite #200, Naperville, IL 60563

(630) 369-8300

treefund@treefund.org

www.treefund.org

TREE Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to support scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry.

TREE Fund earned our 2024 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency! Check out our nonprofit profile to keep up to date with our impact. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/shared/17bf1c65-c913-4096-8695-11f0dc3fa73f.

Keep this link handy, we want to make sure you always have the information you need to support our work with trust and confidence.

TREE Fund is proud to announce that its strong financial health and ongoing accountability and transparency has earned a Three-Star Rating from Charity Navigator. This rating designates TREE Fund as an official “Give with Confidence” charity, indicating that our organization is using its donations effectively based on Charity Navigator’s criteria.