Shortly after being elected to the WCISA Board in 2013, I discovered that whoever is president when our Annual Conference is held gets to plan and host his or her dream conference that year. With that, I started jotted down ideas for my dream conference. As time went on, I started thinking about how the land on our planet is like a boat among the oceans of the world. In Polynesian culture, the oceans connect us, not divide us. Hawaii is the most remote landform on Earth, but it’s also connected to Asia, Africa, North America, and the Pacific Islands as the crossroads of the Pacific. Hawaii has the most severe invasive species problem in the United States, many of which are pests and diseases that attack our urban forest. But we’re not alone in facing this problem. As our climate changes, pests, and diseases become more invasive, with ranges expanding as areas warm. We’re all in this boat together! And that boat is our Mother Earth.

Please join us in Hawaii and become part of an early detection alert system to protect our planet and our urban forests. Hope to see you soon!

Carol Kwan, WCISA President