Success is Doing What You Love

When I recently learned that UCW had won the Best Practice Award from the American Planning Association (APA) Ohio for the Columbus Urban Forest Master Plan, I was elated! After months of working collaboratively with the Columbus community to develop the Columbus Urban Forestry Master Plan, our hard work is being recognized. And, the best thing is that residents of Columbus, Ohio will benefit greatly from this work now and into the future. In a recent press release, APA said, “The Columbus Urban Forestry Master Plan serves as a blueprint to improve Columbus residents' quality of life through investment in urban trees.”?

This urban forestry master plan is the first of its kind in Columbus, and has created real momentum for change. It’s also the first-time the city council, city staff, community members, and people from around the region have come together to learn about urban forestry and work collaboratively. We brought the community together to examine collaboratively what Columbus already has, the role of urban forestry in health communities, learn about best practices in urban forestry, and define the community desires for Columbus in future years. As a result, the city council approved funding to implement the plan, which includes the important move to hire a senior level urban forester to manage implementation (that position is open for applications, by the way!).

Just after receiving the APA Ohio award, The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Ohio announced that they were awarding the Columbus project the Honor Award for Planning + Analysis as well! It’s an honor to receive this award as well.

Finally, I want to congratulate my business partner, Jenny Gulick for receiving The President’s Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS). The President of PGMS can present an award to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to PGMS or the grounds management profession. Jenny was honored for both! She has served as PGMS Greater Cincinnati Branch President for over 15 years, participated on numerous PGMS committees, and most recently served two terms on the Board as a Director-At-Large. PGMS describes her as “an engaged leader who is passionate about arboriculture and the green industry as a whole.” Over her career, Jenny has provided leadership and technical guidance to a wide variety of national, regional, and local organizations, such as ISA, APWA, and the Kentucky Division of Forestry. These organizations help promote urban forestry and elevate the people and programs that manage and protect our forest resources. Congratulations, Jenny!?

Jenny and I believe success is doing what we love and helping to make positive change that leads to healthier urban forests, and it’s so great to be recognized for it.

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Be a part of our award-winning team. Urban Canopy Works is growing! We want to connect with people with strengths in municipal arboriculture management and urban forestry operations, particularly those who have worked as a city forester for one or two large cities.? If you’re interested in learning more about our work and what we’re planning for the future, message me here on LinkedIn and/or we’ll make a plan to connect at the upcoming Partners Conference.?