Discovering the Forest

“What’s going on here?”  I never thought that standing on Worcester streets answering questions like this is how I’d spend many of my Saturday mornings this winter.  I also never thought about how rewarding it would be to participate in an activity that was a little different than the park and beach clean-ups that I’ve done in the past. Worcester Tree Initiative is a small group of people with a large impact.  After joining their Urban Tree Stewards for the past season, I’ve seen how they are truly committed to their goals: community education, urban forest stewardship, and communicating a passion for the environment. I’m no stranger to environmental groups, but I have to say that I haven’t seen any group as small as WTI accomplish as much as they do. Every other Friday and Saturday over the winter, Worcester Tree Initiative surveys and maintains urban trees that are managed by the City of Worcester.  WTI prunes 2-4 year old street trees to assist the Department of Public Works until they are bigger and more established. This seems like a simple task and something that any tree company could do, but over the course of a couple months, I realized that being out in the community and taking responsibility for our urban environment is more than just good for the trees. At many houses, we’ll see a homeowner or tenant come out of their house to ask us what we are doing.  This is a critical part of every outing. The thing that drew me into Worcester Tree Initiative are these interactions, when we have the opportunity to explain proper tree maintenance and city policies.  But usually, when we have these discussions with residents, we have the privilege of seeing peoples’ appreciation for their trees and other flora. Coming from the world of governmental environmental policy, I found it particularly inspiring to see every day people, not those who sign up to do advocacy in their free time or those who pursue it professionally, care about the trees in their life. After a couple good experiences in the frigid cold, I decided I wanted to participate in the Master Tree Stewards class to learn more about urban tree stewardship.  Located at the beautiful Tower Hill Botanical Garden, we met four times after work this January and February and covered topics such as tree identification and common diseases in trees.  Including experts in biology, fieldwork, and urban tree management, the program featured interesting guests each week and gave us a good foundation of knowledge to maintain urban trees. The class and the outings showed me another way to see and appreciate the world around me, and I’m grateful of Worcester Tree Initiative for widening my horizons.  I now look at urban trees as conscious choices made to enhance the world around us. Our cities might feel devoid of nature at first, but after spending a season inside and outside learning the insides and outsides of trees, I see forests. —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– Vick Mohanka 2018 Master Tree Stewards Candidate