Submission Deadline: April 3rd, 2017
The Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) will hold its 53rd Annual International Urban Forestry Conference and Trade Show on November 14th, 2017 in Tulsa, OK. Pre-conference workshops will be held on Monday, November 13th, 2017 in the afternoon. SMA invites potential speakers to submit presentation/workshop proposals to the SMA Conference Committee.
Presentations/workshops should be geared towards building stronger municipal urban forestry programs. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
- Collaborations across municipal departments, non-profits, or agencies that integrate trees into the planning, management, and rebuilding of infrastructure
- Impact of a changing climate on management practices
- Cost of not managing the urban forest
- Latest research on environmental and public health benefits of urban forests
- Latest research and practice on understanding and managing roots in the urban environment
- Use of urban forest inventory analysis to guide management and/or educate the public
- Invasive plant management in the urban forest
- Creative solutions to fund the urban forest
Proposal Details
Proposal Form: Complete the on-line form on the SMA website. Include all pertinent information about yourself and any co-presenter(s). Be sure to fill out all the spaces on the form. Only electronic submissions through the SMA on-line submission page will be accepted.
Learning Objective: All submissions must include a learning objective that conveys the presenter’s intent of what the attendees should learn from the presentation. When writing learning objectives use active verbs such as implement, evaluate, prepare, solve, identify demonstrate, discuss. Avoid verbs such as know, understand, or learn.
Session Format: Although PowerPoint presentations are common, other presentation formats are encouraged. Indicate the format of your presentation and any equipment needs.
Session Length: Presentation length should be 30 to 45 minutes with up to an hour for panel sessions. Workshops can be up to 4 hours in length. Length of sessions may need to be adapted to fit overall program.
Proposals are due no later than 5:00 pm EDT on April 3rd, 2017. Presenters accepted for the program will be notified by May 1st. The conference program will be finalized in May.
Please direct questions about the call for presentations/workshops to Stephen Harris at (315) 473-4330 x3014 or [email protected]
SMA Speaker Policy: It has long been a tradition at SMA that speakers are not paid an honorarium, reimbursed for travel, or given reduced registration rates. Most speakers have been from the field of urban and community forestry and have presented at the Annual SMA International Urban Forestry Conference as a way to give back to their professional association, share their knowledge, and interact with their peer colleagues. As a non-profit association, SMA has been able to keep conference attendance costs down for our members due to the dedication and generosity of our speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors.