Much of our urban forest lives not in parks or along streets, but on residential property. But it's not always easy to know how to make decisions about mature trees, especially when they start to show signs of decline. In this presentation, we will hear from certified arborist Andrea Starbird about what she learned while assessing trees in Tacoma's South End and Hilltop neighborhoods as part of a "treesilience" pilot project with Tacoma Tree Foundation and The Nature Conservancy in Washington. We'll cover some common issues that homeowners face when it comes to caring for mature trees, share some resources to help address those issues, and discuss the barriers to proactive tree maintenance on residential property across Greater Tacoma.

This program is possible thanks to Tacoma Creates.

Speakers Bios

Andrea Starbird is the Owner and Principal Consultant of Starbird Environmental, an Urban Forestry and Arboriculture consulting firm specializing in managing trees as green infrastructure. Andrea is an ISA Certified Arborist, Urban Forest Professional, and Qualified Tree Risk Assessor (TRAQ) with 8 years eight years of experience managing and preserving trees in the Puget Sound Region and greater Washington. She currently serves as a co-chair of Seattle's Urban Forestry Commission and teaches Introduction to Arboriculture at South Seattle College.

Hannah Kett currently serves as the Urban Program Director and leads the Equitable Funding Access team at The Nature Conservancy in Washington.  Hannah has over 15 years of experience collaborating with communities to implement projects that contribute to climate resiliency.  Her project focus includes urban forestry, green infrastructure workforce development and capacity building with a broad range of organizations.  Hannah values the opportunity to engage with community-shaped and implemented projects that are grounded in equity and result in healthy spaces for people and the broader environment.