It has been two years since we have been together! We all look forward to learning from each other about successful, current techniques, practices, discoveries, projects and collaborations, which are transforming the management of urban trees and green spaces. It may be the processes, collaborations, funding, technologies or all of these that lead to a unique project.

The conference committee invites you to share your experience, expertise, and professional knowledge by submitting a presentation proposal. The deadline for submitting proposals is 5pm, October 15, 2021.

Presentation Proposals are being accepted for the 2022 WCISA Annual Conference. The conference will be held May 2-5, 2022 in person at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, California with some key sessions live using a virtual platform.

This years theme is: “Innovative Arboriculture: Experiencing the Urban Forest.”

Our cities continue to reinvent themselves, updating parks, major streets, and other public greenspaces. At the same time, densification is continuing, and land values continue to increase, making urban space a precious resource. The quest to provide adequate planting space for trees while balancing other uses of space and residents’ needs and preferences is a process requiring multidisciplinary relationships, innovative approaches, techniques and frameworks for successful projects. Thus, one focus of the 2022 Conference will be on urban construction, tree planting and preservation. We are keen on learning about new tools, technologies, processes, funding and collaborations.  Additionally, our cities are adjacent to the wildland-urban interfaces (WUI) which are subject to specific hazards, most notably wildfires. Thus, we are also interested in hearing about successful arboricultural techniques, technologies, programs and projects, and which preserve trees in WUI while mitigating wildfire and other hazards.

We welcome proposals for presentations that:

• Share large scale urban forestry projects involving existing and planned tree plantings in high density, limited planting space sites. Discuss city and public agency roles & processes and include specific financing (budgets) through completion and into the maintenance of the project.

• Describe innovative approaches to complete comprehensive urban forest master planning where disadvantaged communities are engaged successfully and lead clearly to the success and longevity of the project.

• Share specific projects which use cutting edge technologies (i.e., imagery, drones and monitors) to inform urban forestry managers responses leading to an improved management of the urban forest.

• Describe results and implications for practice of research relevant to the Wester Chapter, which employed innovative methods, collaborations with practitioners, or emerging technologies to evaluate longstanding or emerging issues in arboriculture in light of our changing climate.

• Demonstrate an innovative or unique approach in tree climbing or in-tree monitoring systems (using technology, equipment, new science) which has proven to be effective and may be underutilized by others.

• Demonstrate innovative approaches to forest management in the WUI, a utility corridor, or even a city center, which have shown success while having been challenged by some level of attack by wildland fire (or implemented while preparing for wildland fires).

Submission instructions:

The preferred proposal format is submitting online our online form. Proposals may also be emailed to Rose Epperson (repperson@wcisa.net) and if necessary, they may be mailed to WCISA 2022 Program Committee, 31910 Country Club Dr. Porterville, CA 93257.

For more information about the conference, please visit our conference website – www.wcisaconnect.com.

If you have any questions, please contact: Program Chair, Igor Lacan (ilacan@ucanr.edu) or Executive Director, Rose Epperson (repperson@wcisa.net)

Thank you for attending! We hope you enjoyed yourself!   I hope you found your time spent with the Western Chapter ISA, our gracious presenters, moderators, vendors, and social participants was worthwhile and had you inspired to learn more and implement some newfound skills into your professional pursuits.     WCISA is a member driven organization. Your feedback about what we’re getting right and what needs improvement is very important to us and will be taken into account when we’re planning future conferences.   THREE WAYS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK Share your “aha” moments through our “mentimeter” app – Add yours here Let the individual speakers know what you thought of their presentation by completing the evaluation in the conference app. Just click on the session and scroll to the bottom – there is an evaluation tab set for your use. Take a few moments to complete our conference survey. You can find that here.   CONTINUE YOUR EXPLORATION If you still have that craving to learn more, please revisit the conference website where you can find each presentation available to you on-demand at your convenience through 9/30/2021. Please remember to fill out the speaker evaluations while in the platform.   CEUs You can still earn continuing education credits by watching the sessions that you may of missed. Complete the CEU sheet listing any sessions viewed in their entirety and return by email to heather@wcisa.net or by mail to 31910 Country Club Drive, Porterville, CA 93257 Click here to download the CEU sheet.   We know that in these uncertain times, the decision to remain with us in a virtual setting is not an easy one. I can attest to the challenges myself, but certainly appreciate each one of you that committed yourselves to join us in some way. Your contributions to the array of conference programming, to include those generous souls that made donations to the Britton Fund silent auction, are not lost on me, the Board of Directors, the Epicenter staff or the conference planning committee. As we migrate back into previously-charted grounds and a return to in-person events before too long, after an unimagined excursion into isolation, I hope this year’s Annual Conference will have served as a launchpad to bigger, better, and more “far out” opportunities for us all. Thank you for not only your flexibility and forgiveness during this wild ride, but the many compliments received of our event that have more than overwhelmed me and the rest of the team that brought this to you.   LET THE MOMENTUM CARRY YOU Keep the connection with your peers alive by sharing your favorite tree planting photos or videos from your received conference tree seedlings. You can upload them with the link provided below. Also include the general location it was planted in and, like the far out space explorers and the Apollo 14 “Moon Trees”, we can reflect decades in the future to monitor these seedlings’ resiliency as an indelible impact of our conference journey together. On that last note, if you haven’t yet, drop a line to our Annual Conference Chair, Kelaine Ravdin, and let her know how remarkable and appreciated her efforts were at broadening our horizons, creating a lasting informative & entertaining connection, and taking the seeds of an idea, nurturing their growth, withstanding the storms, and seeing them develop, like the mighty redwood giants of the Lost Coast, into an unforgettable experience that captured the awe and praise of nearly all that beheld it.   To Trees and To You,   Jimi Scheid WCISA President 2020-2021

Join us on Zoom at 1:00pm Thursday, June 3rd, 2021

Join us for some great After Hours Events!

A message from conference chair, Kelaine Ravdin

           We hope you’ll join us for a “far out” arboricultural experience at this year’s Annual Meeting. Although we can’t bring you to the great redwoods of Humboldt County as we had planned, we’ll strive to bring the wonder of that far out environment to you. Expect great videos from up in big trees, gripping stories from tree climbers, lightning rounds with wild topics, cutting edge talk about things that happen to trees after they die, tours of unusual forests, and, of course, a lot of practical information on how to succeed in the field of arboriculture. The schedule is being updated daily – check back for the latest on the speakers and activities.

KEYNOTE by Obi Kaufmann “The Mind of the Redwood Forest; from Mycelia to Murrelets”

June 7, 2021. 1:30pm

Delivering this year’s keynote address to attendees at the 87^th WCISA annual conference is the best-selling author of The Forests of California, Obi Kaufmann (Heyday, 2021).

In this wide ranging and comprehensive overview, Obi explores the dynamic biodiversity and the conditions that exist to sustain the world’s tallest forests — the forests of Sequoia sempervirens, the Coast redwood. In his artful and analytic style, this tour of California’s iconic redwoods includes a survey of evolutionary theory about how the redwood forest came to be, what the state of the forest is now, and how it might react and evolve to the future in light of development and climate disruption. From hydrology to habitat, Obi’s impassioned and intimate introduction to this endemic ecosystem prescribes intersectional solutions of resiliency and restoration that collectively work to secure the health of the majestic redwood forest for millennia to come.

About Obi…

Obi Kaufmann is the best-selling author and illustrator of many best-selling books including the California Field Atlas, The State of Water; understanding California’s most precious resource, and most recently The Forests of California, a comprehensive work that blends science and art to illuminate the unique character of California’s vast and threatened arboreal world. Through the literary invention of the Field Atlas, it is Obi’s work to popularize the concept of geographic literacy as a collective tool, instrumental in understanding the complex conservation challenges and opportunities of this century. An avid conservationist, Obi is on the Board of Directors at the California Wilderness Coalition and regularly travels around the state, presenting his work and vision of ecological restoration and preservation to such groups as the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildland center, the Mojave Desert Land Trust, the Anza Borrego Foundation, the Mono Lake Committee, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, the Sempervirens Fund, Friends of the River, the California Native Plant Society, the Wilderness Society and the Audubon Society.

Find out more about Obi – The Forests of California by Obi Kaufmann (heydaybooks.com)

Thank you for considering a presentation proposal for the 2021 WCISA Annual Conference. The conference will be held June 7-10, 2021 using our virtual platform.

Our conference theme is “Far Out Arboriculture.” We were looking forward to being “far out” on California’s Lost Coast this June but will be “far out” virtually instead.

After a uniquely challenging year that forced many of us to adapt the ways we work “far out” beyond what we might have thought possible, our focus for the 2021 conference is on innovative approaches (aka, “far out”).

We welcome proposals for presentations that

• Use innovative approaches to deliver information – e.g., a presentation that includes a video segment from the field, or a presentation recorded entirely -in- the field
• Describe an innovative approach in the use of existing technology (video, webcasts, drones, maps, podcasts, web-based instruction) to train arborists
• Demonstrate an innovative approach to our work in arboriculture – it could be new technology, new science, or even a new means of managing our work or communicating with our clients
• Illustrate an innovative approach to connecting with others in the world of arboriculture and urban forestry, e.g., new outreach methods, unique partnerships, educational frameworks or workforce development systems, or other connections that led to “far out” positive outcomes
• Demonstrate innovative approaches to forest management, especially redwood forests and the unique approaches that are taken to work with such large and stately trees
• Represent far out arboricultural practices specific to the Lost Coast – what can the rest of the Chapter learn from our membership in the Northern California coast?

In a nutshell (or, “in an acorn” if you prefer): what have you learned / tried /started-up / experienced / developed / collaborated-on / accomplished during the pandemic era that is so far-out that you want to share it with others because it will help us all get better at what we do?

The conference committee invites you to share your experience, expertise, and professional knowledge by submitting a presentation proposal. More information about the proposal process and the format for submitting presentation proposals is at this link.

Deadline for submitting proposals is 5pm, February 26, 2021.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

• The preferred proposal format is online using this link
• Proposals may also be emailed to Rose Epperson (repperson@wcisa.net)
• If necessary, proposals may be mailed to 31910 Country Club Dr. Porterville, CA 93257 Attention: Rose Epperson.

If you have any questions, please contact: Program Chair, Igor Lacan (ilacan@ucanr.edu) or Rose Epperson (repperson@wcisa.net)