Stewardship of the

Urban Landscape

SOUL Tree Stewards

Leadership  and Tree Steward Training to

Promote Trees in Vermont Communities

.

“I have not spent much time thinking about forestry beyond the “forests”.  I now realize that trees and forestry in towns and communities and cities is just as important.”

-2005 S.O.U.L Graduate


SOUL Links

	Interested in the SOUL Tree Stewards Course - Links to UVM Extension SOUL website. Next course will run in 2012.
	Submit your SOUL Tree Steward hours online - Links to outside survey
	SOUL Talk: a newsletter for SOUL graduates
	SOUL Volunteer opportunities - Links to excel spreadsheet

Becoming a SOUL Tree Steward

To become a SOUL Tree Steward you must complete an eight-week Basic Course, which combines
fundamentals of tree care with leadership skills development. In addition, you must complete a
community project internship where you put your new skills to work on improving your community’s
urban and community trees and forests.

Further Opportunities

Once you have completed the S.O.U.L program, you will become eligible for advanced training opportunities and workshops. These advanced training sessions are a great way to meet fellow S.O.U.L. graduates and tree enthusiasts from around the state.

Course Description

Stewardship of the Urban Landscape (SOUL) is an eight-week course that prepares participants to
become better stewards of and advocates for their community’s tree resources. Presenters for the
course are professionals in the field and represent a variety of organizations. The course is divided into 4 sessions on technical tree care and 4 sessions on community engagement. Technical tree care topics include planting, species selection, maintenance and pruning, and tree health and assessment. Leadership topics range from running effective meetings, fundraising, and coalition building to working with the media and public speaking.

Curriculum

The 8- week course will provide an overview of the following topics:

• Tree Identification
• Understanding Tree Biology
• Landscape Design
• Tree Planting
• Tree Maintenance and Pruning
• Municipal Forest Management
• Tree Health and Risk Tree Management
• Resource Inventory
• Establishing a Tree Board, or tree group
• Funding Community Forestry
• Networking and Coalition Building
• Species Selection: Right Tree Right Place
• Working with Volunteers
• Public Speaking and Presentations
• Personality Types and Group Dynamics
• Working with Media

Presenters for the course are professionals in the field and represent a variety of organizations including the University of Vermont Extension; Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation; USDA Forest Service; Vermont Agency of Transportation, non-profit organizations and private consultants.

For information about the SOUL course,
Visit UVM Extension SOUL website.

contact Kate Forrer at:

802-223-2389 ext. 25

katherine.forrer@uvm.edu