Last month, Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition (SUFC) hosted its Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
This national urban forestry coalition held a reception in the United States Botanic Garden. The stars of the reception were Congressman David Joyce of Ohio's 14th District and USDA Forest Service Associate Chief Mary Wagner.
Both Chief Wagner spoke and Representative Joyce spoke passionately about the work of the Coalition and the urban and community forestry community and the state of urban forests. The Coalition honored its long-time former director Jennifer Judd Hinrichs; Jen was presented with a plaque made from a sustainably harvested sugar maple.
The next day the meeting switched venues to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Headquarters in Arlington, VA where Joel Paque, Senior Policy Advisor, Global Cities spoke. The Global Cities presentation was one of the highlights of meeting. It provided educational information about the Coalition’s strategic planning process and to review many of the outcomes.
Another highlight from the morning was watching the trailer of the film Trees in Trouble by Andrea Torrice who was present to introduce the documentary. PBS has picked up the film, which is great news for Andrea and for the urban forestry community. Based on the trailer, the film is a compelling message piece for thoughtful stewardship of our urban forests.
After lunch, the meeting resumed with keynote speaker Robert Zarr, MD MPH FAAP, founder of DC Parks Rx and was followed by a panel that consisted of Gary Belan of American RIvers, and Michelle Kondo, a social science researcher with the US Forest Service Urban Field Station in Philedelphia, PA.