Have you hit a “road bump” since graduating from UCFS’s Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) or generally in your career? Or maybe you’re feeling “all alone” and need someone who understands the challenges unique to building a municipal urban forestry program? The Urban & Community Forestry Society Mentoring Program is here to help you!
The Mentoring Program is free, but you must be a UCFS member to apply and be accepted. Not a member, join today!
This structured program works to create leadership growth opportunities specifically for municipal forestry professionals. This program provides mutual benefits to mentors and mentees, with individuals both contributing to, and gaining from, the relationship.
UCFS is eager to grow and expand diversity in the urban forestry profession. The Mentoring Program is open to all, but we invite mentors and mentees of diverse backgrounds to apply. You may wish to be paired with someone of a similar background or lived experience and can indicate that on the application.
This program will serve to re-energize and motivate talented municipal and urban forest professionals in their careers, through helping mentees work towards attaining their future goals.
Importantly, the Mentoring Program will help to enhance leadership development for the mentees through the transfer of knowledge of the municipal forestry industry from more experienced mentors to less experienced mentees.
Through a spirit of two-way communication, participants will identify what they need out of the Mentoring Program.
Through regular, scheduled visits the mentee and mentors will pose questions to one another, and from their discussions, the mentee will gain a broader understanding of the importance of workplace culture in growing a career in the municipal forestry profession. The mentors may also use the mentoring program as a mechanism to broaden their succession planning processes and enhance their leadership skills through guiding emerging under-represented talent.
Pair UCFS members with their peers and industry professionals who can complement each other’s strengths and work together on areas of needed improvement.
Support emerging urban forestry professionals on their leadership journeys.
Engage MFI alumni who share a love for MFI and a vision to create the next generation of urban forestry leaders.
Develop career competencies amongst those participating.
Connect municipal forestry professionals with greater opportunities for career advancement and overall grow the urban forestry profession
Monday, November 16 from 1:00-4:00pm
To join us, add the tour with your registration!
Before conference sessions begin, join fellow urban and community forestry professionals for a guided tour of St. Louis that explores the city’s urban forest through the lens of history, resilience, equity, and community investment. From iconic parks to neighborhoods experiencing both environmental challenges and revitalization, you’ll discover how planning decisions, natural disaster recovery, and community partnerships are shaping a healthier, more equitable future.
Our journey begins at Brickline Greenway near Energizer Park, where an ambitious green infrastructure vision is reconnecting neighborhoods and expanding access to greenspace. From there, we’ll travel through the iconic Forest Park to explore the legacy of one of America’s great urban parks and the stewardship practices that continue to make it a model for urban forestry and public space.
As we travel through St. Louis neighborhoods, we’ll view the city’s history through its trees. We will see firsthand how communities are restoring and reimagining their urban forests through community-driven initiatives that are reversing damage from recent devastating tornado and the legacy of historic redlining and its influence on tree canopy distribution.
Along the way, we’ll stop at O’Fallon Park to explore ongoing restoration and neighborhood revitalization efforts before concluding at Kiener Plaza Park, where thoughtful landscape design and thriving urban greenspace showcase the power of trees to create welcoming, resilient downtown environments.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see examples of these critical urban forestry practices:
More than a sightseeing tour, this is an opportunity to gain fresh perspectives, exchange ideas, and connect with colleagues who share a passion for building stronger urban forests. Come see St. Louis through a new lens and leave inspired with innovative ideas and practical insights.
Special Guests:
We’ll be joined on the tour by guest speakers from the City of St. Louis Forestry, Great Rivers Greenway, and Forest ReLeaf who will share insider perspectives on organizational collaboration.
