7.30 AM — 8.30 AM

BREAKFAST

8.00 AM — 9.00 AM 

KEYNOTE: NEW & IMPROVED CALIFORNIAN’S GUIDE TO THE TREES AMONG US

Dr. Matt Ritter — Professor, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

We bring the strength and beauty of the natural world into our urban landscapes by planting trees. Trees muffle noise, create wildlife habitats, mitigate pollution, conserve energy, and make urban living healthier and more peaceful. Dr. Ritter’s presentation will be a photographic exposé of the lives and stories of some of the fascinating trees featured in the recent second edition of his book “A Californian’s Guide to the Trees among Us,” a new natural history and identification guide to urban and suburban trees in California. He will also share recent research findings about the structure and function of California’s urban forest and its future.

9.00 AM — 9.45 AM 

PUTTING TREES TO GOOD USE IN LIFE, DEATH, AND AFTERLIFE

David Godshall — Principal + Co-Founder,
TERREMOTO Landscape Architecture 

Adrian Tenney — Landscape Designer (and Certified Arborist),
TERREMOTO Landscape Architecture

TERREMOTO believes in the power and beauty of trees both in their role in gardens, but also as useful building material in their afterlife. Our design practice is actively orienting towards using extremely local materials in our projects, and thus in both our Northern and Southern California office, we are creating strong relationships with wood suppliers engaged in hyper-local lumber manufacturing. This talk will thus look at trees and their usefulness and beauty from a whole-system, full life-cycle perspective.

9.45 AM — 10.00 AM 

BREAK AND BOOK SIGNING

10.00 AM — 10.45 AM 

STATE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TREE HEALTH; PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE

John Kabashima Ph.D. — Environmental Horticulture Advisor Emeritus, UC Cooperative Extension

Over the last 50 years, the number and variety of trees have increased dramatically. Overlay climate change and one new invasive pest every 40 days, and you have a recipe for disaster. This talk will discuss how we dealt with past and present pests and what we can do to ensure the future of our urban forest.

10.45 AM — 11.30 AM 

HOW DOES GENTRIFICATION CHANGE LA’S URBAN FORESTS?

Francisco Escobedo — Research Scientist,
US Forest Service, LA Urban Center

Gentrification, land use policies, and many other socio-economic, as well as environmental, factors are constantly changing urban forests. This change in urban forests is not only in terms of tree cover or number of trees but also in terms of tree: species, composition, growth, and mortality. Using a network of random, permanent monitoring plots located throughout Los Angeles, we statistically analyzed site-specific changes in urban forest structure and composition from 2008-2018 across areas undergoing various stages of gentrification and displacement. We’ll present preliminary findings and explore whether these gentrification processes change urban forests or if urban forests drive such changes.

11.30 PM — 12.45 PM 

LUNCH, AWARDS & CAL FIRE UPDATE

The California Urban Forests Council celebrates excellence in California Urban Forestry with our annual awards. Join awardees and colleagues to recognize the great work happening across California.

The awards will be followed by an overview of the many ways that CAL FIRE is working to create more resilient forests for California’s future.

12.45 PM — 1.30 PM 

PANEL DISCUSSION: SOCIAL JUSTICE & RESILIENT URBAN FORESTS 

Rachel O’Leary — City Plants

Wanda Stewart — Common Vision

Gama Vargas — Northeast Trees (LA)

1.30 PM — 2.15 PM 

SHOWING STUDENTS THEY CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

Neelam Patil — Science & Climate Literacy Teacher,
Green Pocket Forests

Miyawaki forests are an ultra-dense planting method using all native species of plants to create a multi-layered forest that parallels a 100-year-old forest in just 10 years. These tiny urban forests enhance biodiversity, reduce water consumption to a fraction, and improve soil biology, offering a clever, green solution to many of the most pressing challenges of our time.

In November 2021, Ms. Neelam Patil planted the first-ever schoolyard Miyawaki forest in Berkeley, California. In the process, she empowered hundreds of children, who already feel a sense of climate angst and grief at a young age, to participate in a hands-on solution that had immediate results and impact on their lives. Ten months later, many of the saplings which started out at 8 inches tall have experienced 60 to 100 inches of growth. What started off as an abandoned pile of dirt is now a lush, thriving ecosystem with high leaf density, soil moisture levels, and biodiversity, all while using a fraction of the watering ornamental lawns use. Come learn more about this weapon against climate change and how it is quickly transforming the lives of many and the landscape around us.

2.15 PM — 2.30 PM 

BREAK 

DAY 2  |  TRACK 1: WATER CONSERVATION & DROUGHT

2.30 PM — 3.15 PM 

SAVING WATER AND OUR TREES 

Julie Saare Edmonds — Senior Environmental Scientist, CA Dept. Water Resources

Presentation description coming soon.

3.15 PM — 4.00 PM 

STORMWATER AND URBAN FOREST CONNECTIONS

Peter Schultze-Allen — Senior Scientist, EOA, Inc.

Trees are playing a growing role in handling urban runoff. This presentation will cover the benefits and challenges of treating stormwater with the urban forest.

4.00 PM — 4.45 PM 

HOW TO LESSEN STRESSES ON VEGETATION IN GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Wei Zhang — Entrepreneur & Co-Founder, Zynnovation LLC

Green Infrastructures should be sustainable and cost-effective, but plant establishment and maintenance can be a roadblock. Only established plants create desired benefits of Green Stormwater Infrastructures, such as removing toxins, improving scenery, and providing cleaner air, which is why ensuring that plants used in Stormwater GI become established in their new environment is essential. Trees that die before reaching maturity incur planting and removal costs while creating little benefit in return.

2.30 PM — 3.15 PM 

USING TECH IN ARBORICULTURE  

Leon Borodisky — Tree Surgeon Supervisor II,
City of Los Angeles Dept. of Rec and Parks

Jeff Harvey — Associate Consultant, PM, Davey Resource Group SCAL

Drone use in urban forestry. Using drones in Griffith Park to help with tree inventories.

3.15 PM — 4.00 PM 

TREES FOR TOMORROW START TODAY: COOLING URBAN HEAT ISLANDS WITH DROUGHT, HEAT AND PEST RESISTANT SPECIES

Janet Hartin — Environmental Horticulturist,
UC Cooperative Extension Southern California

The speaker will discuss the important role of trees for cooling urban heat islands and reducing the impacts of climate change. Strategically designed urban green spaces with well-selected placed and maintained trees in inland cities reduce surface temperatures by >65 degrees F in summer and improve thermal comfort. She will also discuss other societal and ecosystem benefits of trees and recommended species of drought, heat, and pest-resistant species.

4.00 PM — 4.45 PM 

URBAN FORESTRY POLICY IN THE FACE OF CHANGING WILDLAND FIRE
(MIND THE DIVIDE)

Meagan Beaver/Elizabeth Lanham — Davey Resource Group

Discussing Mind The Divide program and our goals for CA with regards to trees, urban forest benefits, fire mitigation, managing and maintaining all varieties of forests.

4.45 PM  

WRAP UP, CEUs & SILENT AUCTION

The Silent Auction concludes with payment and collection of items.