June 2025

Arcadia Arbor-Team

Ben Dolan

University of Findlay

Much like in large cities, urban forestry can be constrained in small towns because of limited budgets, competing priorities, and difficulty securing dedicated funds. Despite urban forestry grants becoming more accessible in recent years, small towns often lack dedicated staff with the time to write grant applications, much less implement them.

To address this need, I developed a project to connect the citizens of Arcadia, Ohio, a small town of 555 people, with tree care professionals. The project offered educational programs to teach residents the benefits of urban forestry and high-quality tree care. Through the Ohio Chapter ISA Educational Grant, administered by TREE Fund, with donations from Ohio's professional arborists, I organized workshops that brought ISA Certified Arborists and Board-Certified Master Arborists to Arcadia.

Based in part on the Urban Forestry program offered by the State of Ohio to city leaders who care for public trees, this program provided information about tree management to homeowners and others who care for privately owned trees. With the help of two community volunteers and three certified arborists, I developed a series of workshops, a tree care plan, and a tool lending library to provide residents with the knowledge and skills necessary for basic tree care.

While the residents learned about tree care from professionals, the arborists gained a new network of potential clients and colleagues—a true win-win. The program was a successful, short-term opportunity to teach homeowners the value of trees and their basic care, while also providing them with the resources for identifying and hiring certified arborists when their tree care needs exceeded their skills and knowledge.

Ben Dolan is a professor of biology at The University of Findlay and a part-time tree care professional with Advanced Tree Health, Ltd. He holds the ISA Certified Arborist and SAF Certified Urban and Community Forester credentials.

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 May:

Steve Geist

Doug Hoerr

Randall Miller

Morbark, Inc.

SavATree

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

Grant and Scholarship Awardees from Spring Cycle Announced

TREE Fund is proud to announce its Spring 2025 Grant and Scholarship recipients.

After approval during the TREE Fund Board of Trustees meeting, one research grant and three education grants, including two for the new Davey Tree Expert Company Community Arboriculture Education Grant Program, are being awarded. In addition to these grants, ten students were awarded TREE Fund scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each towards their continuing education.

Utility Arborist Research Fund Grant:

Melody Mount, University of Tennessee

Impacts of Accessor Perceptions, Species, and Defects When Performing Tree Risk Assessments.

Davey Tree Expert Company Community Arboriculture Education Grant:

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County (NY)

Urban Tree Equity Education and Outreach

St. Olaf College (MN)

Educating St. Olaf and Carleton College Students on Disease/ Pest Identification, Safe Chainsaw Use, and Tree Care as a Profession

Ohio Chapter ISA Education Grant:

Western Reserve Land Conservancy (OH)

Tree Steward Training Program

Robert Felix Memorial Scholarship:

Clayton Mahoney, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (GA)

Jackson Wilson, Michigan Tech University

Tyler Stewart, Brigham Young University (UT)

Patience Tongo Fouelefack, College La Cite (Ottawa)

Connor Will, Virginia Tech University

Bonnie Appleton Memorial Scholarship:

Keely Zuber, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Larry R. Hall Memorial Scholarship:

Olivia Shetterly, College of DuPage (IL)

Will Nutter Memorial Scholarship:

Owen McKinley, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Fran Ward Women in Arboriculture Scholarship:

Trinity Willoughby, Pennsylvania College of Technology

John Wright Memorial Scholarship:

Alex Prideaux, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

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!

July 22, 2025. Noon CT.

Leveraging Data and Experience for Tree Equity

Presenters: Lindsay Darling, Jason Gordon and Gordon Matassa

Click here to register for this webinar

October 14, 2025. Noon CT.

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

Presenter: JD Brown

Click here to register for this webinar

November 5, 2025. 2:00pm CT. (Note different time from normal.)

Optimizing Tree Responses to Root Pruning in Mature Trees

Presenter: Justin Morgenroth

Registration link available soon

December 9, 2025. Noon CT.

Assessing the Mechanical, Physiological and Carbon Accounting Effects of Different Pruning Regimens

Presenter: Stella Dee

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.

From Student to Professional

and Beyond

Amy Mackenzie

Urban Forester

ISA Certified Arborist

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Division of Lands and Forests

Looking at the photo I submitted with my Robert Felix Memorial Scholarship application, I wonder if TREE Fund awarded me the scholarship so I’d have resources to go out and learn chainsaw safety. I do remember the day that photo was taken in 2002. I can assure you that all my PPE was laying nearby but for some reason I thought it was reasonable to abandon all sense for a photoshoot. The photo was taken to commemorate my last day, after a year and a half working on a tree crew at an arborist firm to report to the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Ranger School in the Western Adirondacks the next day. 

My Urban and Community Forestry journey began before that, though, with a Student Conservation Association internship with a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Urban Forester. When the internship was over, I found I wanted to continue working with trees and sought a ground person position while I finished credits I needed to transfer to a Forestry degree program.

In the 20 years since I received TREE Fund’s scholarship, I have held satisfying positions as a Certified Arborist in arboriculture, forest sustainability, and public service. I currently hold a position as an Urban Forester for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. I get to help make New York State’s Mid-Hudson Valley communities stronger, healthier, and greener. I’m right back where I started and loving it! Thank you for your support.

TREE Fund Surpasses

$6 Million in Support Through Grants and Scholarships

With the awards announced from the recent application cycle, Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) has surpassed the $6 million mark in funding tree research and education through its grant and scholarship programs.

TREE Fund was founded in 2002 via a merger of the International Society of Arboriculture Research Trust and the National Arborist Foundation of the National Arborist Association (now known as the Tree Care Industry Association) with a mission to identify and fund programs that support the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in arboriculture and urban forestry began. TREE Fund has eight research grant programs, two education grant programs, and six student scholarship programs which provide arborists and researchers with the money they need to not only improve the health and care of trees in our urban forests but also keep the workers in the industry informed on the latest safety techniques, information, and best practices needed to do their jobs safely.



“We are very excited to have surpassed the $6 million mark in grant and scholarship funding. The support TREE Fund provides through our research and education grant programs helps improve best practices in the industry in plant health, worker safety, utility arboriculture, and more,” said Dr. Paul Putman, President and CEO of TREE Fund. “Our scholarship programs have helped dozens of new arborists complete their education with less of a financial burden, while encouraging a lifelong commitment to best practices informed by research.”

Read the whole article here.

Nominations Being Accepted for Ken Ottman Volunteer Award

The Ken Ottman Volunteer Award is given annually to an individual whose contributions on behalf of TREE Fund are exemplary; previous recipients of the award are listed below. The Ottman Award does not exclusively recognize accomplishments for the prior twelve months. A committee of former recipients reviews nominations and makes the final award. Toward this end, we are seeking your nomination(s), should you have one or any, for this important recognition. If you would like to nominate one or more recipients, please send an email to Jonathan Cain with the following information by July 25, 2025:

1. Name of the person you are nominating:
2. How the nominee supports the mission of TREE Fund (50-250 words):
3. Which TREE Fund activities did the nominee participate in or support (exp: Board of Trustees, TREE Fund Committees, Special Events, Fundraising):
4. Provide a brief quote describing why this nominee should receive the Ken Ottman Award (100 words max.) (May be used in TREE Fund publications):

Tour des Trees Fundraising Update

We recently passed the $100,000 mark in fundraising towards this year's Tour des Trees campaign and our riders are working hard to help get us to our goal!

64 riders will be joining us in Michigan this August as we roll through the state, meeting with various groups and talking all about the importance of tree research and trees in our communities. In addition to our riders, 16 individuals have signed on to the Virtual Tour des Trees, supporting TREE Fund's programs from their homes and setting their own goals.

Our fundraising goal for this year is to raise $410,000, so we are a quarter of the way there!

You can help these dedicated riders and TREE Fund reach our goals by going to www.tourdestrees.org and making a donation to your favorite rider or team.

Limited sponsorship opportunities are also available for any businesses that would like to support the riders this year. Reach out to Jonathan to find out more about what your business can do to support our riders on their 430+ mile journey and TREE Fund's programs.

June is National Safety Month

If you have been following us on our social media accounts, you have seen our posts highlighting TREE Fund's support of over 55 research studies related to safety in arboriculture and urban forestry.

As we close out National Safety Month, take a moment to look at all the safety related studies that TREE Fund has funded over the years, most of which have been funded by the Safe Arborist Techniques Fund Grant Program.

If you are not following us on socials, be sure to add yourself to our platforms:

Facebook - LinkedIn - Instagram - Threads - BlueSky

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.