The Citizen Forester program presents a wonderful opportunity for individuals to become skilled at planting, pruning, and maintaining trees. It also provides interested persons with the chance to get involved locally with Cross Timbers cities and counties to help communities take care of their public trees. Among many other projects, Citizen Foresters will be capable of assisting with city tree inventories, training and pruning of newly established trees, measuring street trees for clearance, pruning crepe myrtles on public property, mulching trees in public parks, and participating in city or county tree planting programs and tree give-away events.

In Fall 2005, the Cross Timbers Urban Forestry Council (CTUFC) received a matching partnership grant from the Texas Forest Service to develop the Citizen Forester program. As members of the CTUFC, City of Fort Worth Forestry staff took lead responsibility for implementing the program. Other Cross Timbers members served as guest speakers and assisted as field training supervisors. The first training program began in January and was completed in June 2006. Twenty-seven of the 29 participants completed the intensive 6-month training portion of the program and now go on to support their local communities by agreeing to provide a minimum of 25 hours of volunteer service in support of tree projects on public property. Congratulations to these dedicated individuals!

For more information about becoming a Citizen Forester or learning how these volunteers can assist with projects involving trees on public property in your community, please contact Melanie Migura at 817-871-5739.

Download the Citizen Forester brochure.

Download the Citizen Forester flier.

Download the Citizen Forester application.

Download the Citizen Forester press release.

Download the Citizen Forester class schedule.

Citizen Foresters in Action - See what projects Citizen Foresters have been working on.

    
Citizen Foresters learning and then conducting tree inventory at a city park.