The Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) is an exciting, high-level training opportunity that guides professionals in the leadership and managerial aspects of urban forestry. This week-long intensive educational program delivers a challenging, yet rewarding, opportunity to learn how to grow more successful community tree programs. Attendees will master leadership and management tools of program administration, coalition building, strategic thinking, program planning, and public relations by investing a week in their personal growth and development.
Applications for MFI 2026 will open on August 4. Be among the first to know by completing the MFI Interest Form.
The Municipal Forestry Institute is an inclusive, immersive, and transformative educational experience that empowers urban forestry leaders to gain valuable and practical insights from prominent figures, experts, and peers in the field of urban forestry. Read below to find out if MFI is right for you.
The MFI curriculum focuses on the human side of urban forestry and the development of leadership skills rather than the technical aspects of urban forestry or arboriculture. Principles and practices gleaned from a wide range of disciplines are incorporated into training sessions. Participants are challenged to expand their personal and professional boundaries and develop their role as a leader in the urban forestry profession.
Applications for MFI 2025 are closed, but you can read more about the MFI experience below.
The Municipal Forestry Institute is an inclusive, immersive and transformative educational experience that empowers urban forestry leaders to gain valuable and practical insights from prominent figures, experts and peers in the field of urban forestry.
The goals of the Municipal Forestry Institute are to:
Each year, MFI participants form a cohort that learn and work closely together. Through this group of peers, participants develop a professional network of peers from a wide range of geographies, political spectrums, and work histories.
MFI participants come from varied types of jobs, educational backgrounds, and professional experiences, the common thread being that the MFI participants make or support daily tree planting and care decisions for their communities. A typical MFI training or event will have a mix of employees who work for city governments (e.g. Municipal Arborist, City/Urban Forester, Land Use Planner, Parks and Recreation Director), the nonprofit sector (e.g. board or staff of tree planting organizations), state forestry agencies (e.g. Urban Forestry Coordinators), utilities (e.g. Utility Vegetation Managers), and the private sector (e.g. nursery growers, urban forestry consulting firms).
While the Institute is valuable for all levels of professional development, the curriculum is geared for people in a mid-level manager position or in mid-career.
The Institute curriculum features a multi-dimensional leadership focus with a progression that concentrates on:
This progressive education and learning model is designed to stimulate the participant’s thinking about their own professional and personal growth, then about how to improve their own program, and finally how to synthesize this understanding and knowledge to facilitate change.
This is a unique leadership and professional development opportunity you won’t find elsewhere. A team of dedicated urban forestry professionals help you gain insights for how you can move from a good urban forestry program to a great one. MFI is an investment in your professional future – one that will pay great dividends to you and your community.
Past MFI classes have included over 800 city foresters and city arborists, urban foresters, municipal arborists, planners, tree wardens, state urban forestry staff, municipal tree advocates, and urban forestry non-profit staff.
MFI is an intensive learning experience. You must be able to attend the full week, which typically starts at 4:00pm on Sunday runs until noon on Friday. There are daily breaks and group events throughout the week. Your full attendance will be required at every session. Partial attendance is not possible. Pets, partners, dependents, and/or guests cannot be accommodated at MFI.
The MFI instructional staff comes with decades of experience in all phases of urban forestry at the municipal, state, federal, private, and non-profit levels.
The curriculum was developed by a team of dynamic urban forestry professionals and educators experienced in leading urban forestry programs at the local, state, federal, and non-profit levels. The MFI training will cover these four themes.
The curriculum is presented in a variety of formats including lectures, panel discussions, group exercises, and real-life scenarios.
An MFI Pre-Institute is required for all attendees. The Pre-Institute takes place virtually, 2-4 weeks in advance of the MFI training. The Pre-Institute is an online platform for participants to connect and communicate with fellow participants and the MFI Education Facilitators and engage in concepts and topics that will be discussed during MFI. The Pre-Institute begins with a virtual welcome meeting and continues to include an online forum for communicating with the MFI participants and a series of readings and discussions that lay the groundwork for a successful week of teaching and learning.
Registration includes costs for:
Scholarships covering registration and travel are available from UCFS and may also be available from local and state-level sources. More details on how to qualify for these scholarships will be posted.
Organizers and Sponsors
The MFI is a program of the Urban and Communtiy Forestry Society and is organized in cooperation with other groups such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. UCFS and its partners are committed to increasing diversity in urban forestry and leadership opportunities for people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and others who have historically been underrepresented in our field.
