CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Mary Pederson
Treetech
SPEAKER BIO
Mary is the Consultancy Department Manager at Treetech Specialist Treecare Ltd where she works with a team of arborists that provide a range of arboricultural and urban forestry services. Prior to Treetech, she has worked in range of roles and parts of tree care industry in Lakeville, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, she worked in commercial production arboriculture doing tree pruning, rigging and removals, planting, plant health care, staff training and urban forestry consultancy. In Minnesota, she worked for a municipality helping to manage the community’s urban forest. This involved collaborating with different City departments, communicating with residents and the public, drafting arboricultural specifications and contracts, managing multiple tree care contracts, developing and implementing the City’s epidemic pest management policy and program, training staff in arboricultural best practices and more. She went to the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Policy and Management with a minor in Forest Resources Conservation. Following university she became an ISA Certified Arborist and was a part of the first cohort of students to complete an arborist apprenticeship in Wisconsin.
TALK TITLE
Planting Trees that Thrive
ABSTRACT
At face value, the process of planting a tree is ‘easy and simple’. Get quality tree stock, plant the ‘right tree’ in the ‘right place’ and maintain/water the tree during establishment. Often this ‘easy and simple’ process of species selection, site selection, site preparation, stock selection, planting and tree establishment is managed or completed by landscape architects, landscapers, horticulturists, engineers etc. without arborist involvement, but the decisions made at the nursery and at planting have significant and long-term implications when it comes to tree establishment/mortality, tree health, and the growth of our urban forests, its tree canopy cover and the subsequent canopy cover benefits and ecosystem services.
As arborists and urban foresters, we see the problems that arise from low quality tree stock and incorrect planting – buried root flares, stem girdling roots, circling roots, pests/diseases, incompatible graft unions, low tree establishment rates, premature tree death, expensive and reactive tree maintenance and more. These issues around tree planting etc. are an urban forestry problem faced around the world.
Arborist and urban foresters’ involvement and expertise in the tree planting process is essential for growing our canopy cover and urban forests. Though there is ongoing debate within the industry regarding certain steps regarding tree stock selection, installation process etc., there is a generally accepted tree planting process/framework. This talk goes back to basics with the essential steps for tree stock quality, species selection, site selection and planting installation to increase the likelihood of tree establishment and canopy cover growth in addition to ways for arborist and urban foresters to work and collaborate with the people involved with the tree production and planting process.