Volunteers Needed for Community Forester Program

The Park People is currently accepting registrations from volunteers wishing to become Community Foresters. The five-week training will begin March 12, and is comprised of five classroom sessions and one field trip. Space is limited to the first 70 registrations.

The Community Forester program is a joint educational effort of The Park People, Denver Forestry, Denver Water, and CSU Cooperative Extension. It is hoped that by training a corps of community volunteers, Denver's trees will benefit from neighbor-to-neighbor outreach and education on how to ensure healthy trees through proper watering and care.

"All signs are pointing toward more severe watering restrictions for the spring and summer," said Patrick Hayes, The Park People's executive director. "New restrictions coupled with the dry fall and winter we've had will create a significant challenge to the health of our urban canopy without community intervention."

Community Foresters will help keep tree care at the forefront of the public's landscape concerns as spring approaches. Specifically, these volunteers will work as a group in targeted neighborhoods in Denver to share information and do minor structural pruning on public trees. Individually, Community Foresters will also serve as neighborhood resources for information on keeping their neighborhood's trees healthy through the drought.

"The level of interest and inquiry we've seen over the past six months from the public is a clear sign that Denver's trees are of enormous value to residents," Hayes said. "Our tree care workshops have been well attended, and we've distributed hundreds of tree care flyers for distribution in neighborhoods. We've also seen increased interest in our monthly volunteer projects to help create mulch beds under park trees."

In addition to the support of volunteers and educational partners, the Community Forester program has received the funding support of Xcel Energy, the National Tree Trust, Colorado State Bank & Trust, Colorado Tree Coalition, Plant-It 2020, Boeing Employees Community Fund, and Wild Oats Markets.

Those interested in receiving more information on becoming a Community Forester, or other volunteer opportunities, should contact The Park People by phone at 303-722-6262, or by sending an email.

The Park People is a non-profit organization that fosters parks and recreation facilities and opportunities, and encourages the planting and maintenance of trees and provides education on the value of the urban forest.