Tuesday and Wednesday, February 7-8, 2012, 9 a.m. to 4
p.m.
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science
Jackson, MS
The theme of this year’s 21st
annual conference is creating healthy communities. The focus topics include storm preparedness
and mitigation, creating parks, gardens and other green spaces, benefits of
green space and trees in your space plus what other communities nationwide are
doing to enhance spaces. Through a
variety of progressive green practices you will learn ways to improve your
community, your backyard, local housing, business and commercial areas. Learn how to create better places with proven
methods to enhance the health of not only the community but its citizens. Learn about partnerships, funding and other
resources to implement projects. Learn
about effective planning and collaboration to get the job done. Over 20 of the best speakers from around the
state and nation will gather to share their wealth of knowledge and experience
on a variety of timely topics.
Full Agenda available by request
at dyowell@aol.com
Event Topics
Green Communities-Good Health
Community Gardens,
Orchards, Parks and Green Spaces
Collaboration and Local Green Teams
Grants and Other Valuable Resources
Storm Preparedness and Mitigation
Better Green Policy Development
Policies and Funding That Works
Resiliency and Sustainable Crisis Recovery
Planning Through Partnerships
Newest Approaches to Community Based Green Infrastructure
Creating A Community Forestry Legacy
Comprehensive Planning for Ecological Conservation
Keynote Speakers
Green Communities - Good Health
Dr. Kathleen Wolf, University of Washington
Community greening benefits can be the basis for better partnerships
with planners and public health professionals.
There is extensive scientific knowledge about the health benefits of the
human experience of nature. A project
has summarized the extensive evidence of extensive socio-cultural benefits, and
shares this information in series of summaries to help you. We will build on
this resource to present guidelines for community planning that enhances nature
based human health, well-being and economic success.
Dr. Kathleen Wolf is the nation’s foremost research social scientist,
located at the College of the Environment, University of Washington. She has a joint appointment with the USDA
Forest Service to help develop the Green Cities Research Alliance. Kathy’s research mission is to discover,
understand, and communicate human behavior and benefits.
Comprehensive Planning
for Ecological Conservation
Eric Bridges,
Planner, City of Lakeland, TN
By utilizing a natural resources management staff as part of community
development and growth management, conservation can be achieved during the
inevitable growth process. The role of a
professional forester or other natural resources manager in relation to land-use
planners, landscape architects, engineers, parks & recreation staff and the
general public will be the focus of this presentation. This presentation will
describe how a small rural community under tremendous growth pressure is
utilizing conservation of natural resources as a tool for growth management and
the challenges and opportunities this approach presents to the natural
resources manager, the planning commission, the City staff, and the citizens of
the community.
Developing
Effective Local Tree Policy and Sustainable Crisis Recovery
SHURTZ, ASLA, PLA, ISA
URBAN FORESTRY & LANDSCAPE MANAGER
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
CITY OF BATON ROUGE
This presentation will explain how to plan
for and recover from an urban forestry disaster. It will also examine some
creative ways of approaching debris management, and saving your community money
in the process. STEPHEN
A. Steve Shurtz is Urban Forestry
and Landscape Manager for the East Baton Rouge City-Parish Department of Public
Works. A registered Landscape Architect and ISA Certified Arborist, he has over
30 years of experience in municipal landscape design and urban forestry
management. Steve has twice served as president of the Society of Municipal
Arborists (SMA), is a past president of the Louisiana Chapter of the American
Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), was recently elected to the national
Board of Trustees of the ASLA, is currently President of the Louisiana Urban
Forestry Council and recently completed his second term as a member of the
National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). Since 1978,
Steve has maintained a private landscape design practice, Stephen A. Shurtz,
ASLA, Landscape Architect, in Baton Rouge.
Also, how to fund a forestry
program. This program will explore
how a community can create a successful and growing urban forestry program with
minimal funding and staffing. We will
discuss creative ways to build public and administrative support for your
program in tough economic times.
Risk
Management and Community Tree Assessments (Parts 1 and 2)
Dudley
R. Hartel, Center Manager,
Urban
Forestry South, SRS-4952 Integrating Human & Natural Systems, Athens,
Georgia 30602
This is a discussion of a comprehensive risk management
program that can better support local management and disaster planning. Urban Forestry South is the Southern Region’s
urban & community forestry Technology Transfer Center which supports
U&CF programs through state agencies and municipalities. This presentation will cover 10 steps
outlined for better storm preparedness and mitigation.
Continuing Education Hours
Elected
officials, planners, foresters, arborist, parks & recreation, engineers, Master
Gardeners, landscape architects, planners, Urban Forest Masters and others are
eligible.
