"We all live downstream and I am convinced that our work to plant and care for community trees and forests is the perfect salve to an imperfect world".

- Phillip Rodbell

Background
Phillip Rodbell is Program leader for the U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area urban and community forestry program located in Newtown Square, PA. He joined the 20-state region after nearly five years as urban forestry coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management. Prior to his state work, he served as urban forester and Global ReLeaf coordinator for the nonprofit AMERICAN FORESTS, and science editor of Urban Forests magazine. Phillip has a Master of Science degree in Forestry from North Carolina State University and a B.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Treelink Interview with Phillip Rodbell

Question: Has the public's perception of Urban Forestry changed since you first began working in the field?
Mr. Rodbell: Urban forestry was considered an oxymoron when I began studying and working in the field in 1982. Foresters were the new kids on the block and not very welcome in departments of public works and parks, even by professional arborists and tree workers. Some thought urban foresters were in the business for wood products, rather than caring for trees and building livable communities. But many of us continue to use arboriculture and urban forestry interchangeably, and I think this weakens the movement.

We need professional arborists in city public works and parks departments, planting and caring for trees on a daily basis, but we also need urban foresters in planning departments providing the vision necessary to sustain a forest ecosystem where people live, work and play. This is not done one tree or one street at a time. Planning is needed to keep trees and entire urban forests thriving (not just surviving) in an engineered environment.

Only a small percentage of communities have figured out that they need urban foresters and ecologists in their planning departments. On a positive note, the new generation of planners and landscape architects graduating from our universities are far better equipped with information today, if not to protect the ecological integrity of their new communities, at least to ask the right questions and seek the skills necessary to create more sustainable communities.

Question: What are some of the new programs you're working on right now?
Mr. Rodbell: This is an exciting time to be in the U.S. Forest Service. More than ever before, we are integrating our skills to create a team approach to resource protection. The focus on urban watersheds is a major driver of this, bringing foresters together with geographic information managers, hydrologists, planners, landscape architects, ecologists, wildlife biologists, etc. With support from our leadership in the Northeastern Area, I was able to hire the agency's first community planner for New York City. Working with dozens of nonprofit groups, municipal and state agencies in the five boroughs, Matt Arnn has created a web-based information platform that contains the first comprehensive map of green infrastructure in the city; a meeting place for community groups seeking information about their own neighborhoods (Information can be found on www.oasisnyc.net).

Reaching out to new audiences, people of color, long-time urban residents, and helping them see nature in the city: the buried creek or river behind the warehouse, the old tree in the cemetery or long-vacant lot, a street tree long neglected brought to life by mulch and water. These activities are being replicated by our State partners across the 20-state region and District of Columbia. Activities in Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Minneapolis, St. Louis and hundreds of small communities add up to a tremendous movement. My challenge is to capture these activities and tell the story to decision-makers that will drive investment in community trees and forests.

Question: There has been much ado about the Bush administration's changes to Clinton's National Forest policies. Do you see a similar impact on Urban Forestry?
Mr. Rodbell: It is too early to tell how current events will play out in urban forestry. Former President George Bush supported funding for urban forestry as a way to improve air quality and livability in cities. Our hope is that his George W. finds a thriving movement of dedicated people, spurred by his father's vision, that are using trees to revitalize communities across the country. We need to tell the story to this new administration. Our new Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry, Michael Rains, is the right person at the right time. With his leadership, I am very optimistic.

Question: You spent three years working in Honduras with the Peace Corps - is there anything that we could learn from the Hondurans in regards to Urban Forestry?
Mr. Rodbell: I cannot help but think of Honduras almost every day. The travails of urban life weigh so heavy on those struggling to survive in the developing world. But all of our communities have pockets of poverty and oppression, from small town to big city. We exclude people without even realizing the tremendous wealth of experience, cultural and professional, that we are neglecting.

I hosted a forum every Tuesday night in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, and people would walk down from the eroding hills and squatter communities to express their concerns about public health and the environment; trees were the tools I offered and they accepted with great humility and gratitude when I arrived personally to deliver them to their homes. Before, city hall was never considered open to them; afterward, even in bare feet these heroic people would walk in to request an audience. We need to keep our doors and our ears open to all the people we serve.

Question: How do you see your work impacting our communities in the future?
Mr. Rodbell: I am but a small fish in a very long river, swimming up stream to the headwaters. We all live downstream and I am convinced that our work to plant and care for community trees and forests is the perfect salve to an imperfect world. All of the meeting and talking, writing and squawking is necessary, but it is the action that really makes a difference.

Ultimately, like everyone else, my hope is that the daily grind yields a timeless cure: communities that are sustained by the nature that they nurture.