Community Forest Management

A community tree plan does not need to be long or complicated to provide a guiding document for your shade tree commission.

This article contains links to useful resources designed to help municipalities, community planners, shade tree commissions, volunteer organizations, and others that plant and manage community trees.

If you are topping a tree to make it smaller, DON'T. It doesn't work!

Discover practical landscaping solutions in this three-part series, with planting techniques, tree care, contracting tips, and sustainable turf management for healthier, thriving landscapes.

If your community has an active tree program, it could be awarded Tree City USA status.

Training held in Luzerne County this past summer will be available to other Pennsylvania communities in 2025.

Discover how the TreeKeeper user-friendly tool aids community tree managers in planning future forest management during this 90-minute webinar.

PA DCNR makes TreeKeeper online inventory tool available to Pennsylvania municipalities to keep track of public street and park trees in their communities.

Explore planning and implementing simple stewardship practices on your lot to create and enhance natural areas and make a positive impact on the environment during this series.

The Environmental Justice Forests grant program is engaging environmental justice areas throughout Pennsylvania with tree planting and community education to increase tree canopy and the myriad of associated health and environmental benefits.

Working with partners and a long-term strategy key to 39 years of maintaining and enhancing the Lewisburg community forest according to a shade tree commissioner and a Tree Tender volunteer.

Online Arborist Short Course Series provides expanded learning opportunities and introduction to careers in tree care for students in a technical school horticulture program.

A unique partnership has been providing large caliper bare root trees for communities to plant since 2020.

Urban forested natural areas are critical to improving the quality of life for residents, but they need some management.

This article explains planning hierarchies and putting tree planning into practice, including effective administration; analysis of hazardous trees; proper site preparation; and proper tree selection.

Podcast tells the stories that made certain trees important witnesses to history and how those trees are being preserved as reminders of that history.

A cursory look at an unhealthy tree may lead to some initial ideas of what is causing a decline in health, but a closer look may reveal other causes initially unnoticed.

If you can't see the trunk flare/root collar at the base of a tree, it may be buried, which can lead to decay and whole tree failure.

Online MyTree tools let you see what benefits your tree is providing to you and your community.

Good design and community input can help downtowns achieve an attractive and comfortable tree lined shopping district.

A systematic approach to detecting and dealing with tree risk can greatly reduce the potential for tree failures that cause injury and damage to property.

Hands-on tree planting and care help students better connect to biology lessons and the natural environment.

The Miyawaki Method encompasses soil preparation, careful species selection, and intensive aftercare with the goal of speeding up the development of mature forests in small spaces.

This article explains how communities can form a tree commission to create and sustain an urban forestry program.

This article explains the essentials of budgeting for the costs of a community tree program each year. It includes a community tree budget worksheet.