Davey Tree Flipbooks

Pittsburgh Bridges Urban Forestry Connections A ttendees, exhibitors and presenters from Davey Resource Group and the Davey Institute traveled to Pittsburgh, Pa., Nov. 6 through Nov. 7 to join several organizations for the Partners in Community Forestry Confer- ence, organized by Arbor Day Foundation. "Right now, Partners is the premiere confer- ence within the urban forestry community," says Greg Ina, vice president and general manager of the Davey Institute. "Attending is a great opportunity for Davey representatives to visit with partners and network with organizations that have developed some of the best-in-class programs." Davey, event co-sponsor, was well- represented on the conference program. The keynote presentation featured DRG's involve- ment with the development of Pittsburgh's urban forest master plan. Josh Behounek, who drafted the plan proposal and assembled the project team, presented alongside Tree Pittsburgh's Matthew Erb and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's Jeffrey Bergman. Tree Pittsburgh, an environmental non-profit organization, is dedicated to enhancing the city's vitality by restoring and protecting the urban forest. "DRG was contracted by the City of Pittsburgh to complete its tree inventory in 2005," Behounek explains. "Through the results, our project recommended the removal of several hazard trees." Pittsburgh's urban forest master plan incorporates a tree inventory, Urban Tree Canopy (UTC), i-Tree Eco and i-Tree Streets. "This plan represents one of the best urban forest master plans in the U.S., which can serve as a model to other cities as well," Behounek says. Ina, also chair of the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC), explained the connection between the community and NUCFAC during his conference presentation. The Davey Institute's Michael Leff also co-presented about the urban ecology collaborative, and DRG's Vince Mikulanis presented an i-Tree Eco project case study about Southwestern urban forests. "This conference represents the most innovative and progressive communities and nonprofits across the country," Behounek explains. "Those involved are our clients and partners, and it is crucial we continue to listen to find innovative solutions to their problems." To amplify Davey's presence at the confer- ence, the company sponsored a TweetBeam feed, which visually displayed an arrangement of all tweets featuring "#pcf2013" on large screens between sessions, during breaks and on a screen at the Davey show booth. For every tweet including the conference hashtag and posted within conference dates, Davey donated $1 to Tree Pittsburgh. Davey recorded 1,232 tweets (including retweets and replies) to #pcf2013 for the week, which doubled and rounded up totaled the $2,500 donation Davey ultimately provided Tree Pittsburgh. The contest generated more than 2.2 million impressions online as well. Pittsburgh simultaneously hosted several other events and association meetings in early November, including: NUCFAC, The Nature Conservancy Continental Dialogue— Non-native Forest Insects and Diseases; the Society of Municipal Arborists; the Alliance for Community Trees—ACT Trees Day; Tree Campus USA—Campus Trees and Sustainability Summit; and Utility Arborist Association (UAA)—Regional Meeting and Training. On the Job Greg Ina (left) and Scott Maco listen to a presentation during the conference. Dana Karcher, Josh Behounek and Jim Zwack (pictured left to right) meet up during the conference in Pittsburgh. 20 | January/February 2014

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