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The Arborist Exchange Program offers urban forestry and municipal arborist professionals from around the world the opportunity to engage with colleagues, and experience urban forestry challenges and successes in varying political and cultural settings.
each year
The program reimburses airfare, lodging, and basic travel expenses for professional exchanges up to $2,000
It is suggested that each participant will spend at least one week visiting and working with another city’s forestry department, but the length of time can be determined between each exchange participant. An exchange may be “two-way”, meaning that paired participants take turns hosting the other, or “one-way”, where a selected participant only visits a willing host city identified and approved by the Arborist Exchange Committee.
Participants must be a member of UCFS. One can apply to the program immediately upon joining. A candidate must be employed within the urban forestry profession for at least two years. Read about past participant exchanges here.
The purpose is to create a way for urban forest managers to exchange expertise, ideas, and technology through in-person contact and on-site experience. What better way to find out how other forestry practitioners operate than to spend time with each other? We have much to learn from other programs in our own countries and around the world, and we each have much to offer. Not only will the program facilitate the transfer of knowledge, but it will also help foster an international community of municipal arborists.
The UCFS Arborist Exchange program is a member-only opportunity.
As a member of UCFS, you can apply to this opportunity by clicking the Apply Now button to login to the member portal. It is recommended that you review the questions and complete your responses in this Word document found after logging in. You can then copy and paste your responses into the application after signing in. The application must be submitted in English. If you have questions, please reach out to the UCFS Executive Director at lberckes@ucfsociety.org and the committee chair at kieranhunt@asplundh.com.
What is required
Participants will travel to the host city’s forestry department, with most participants spending at least one full work week at the exchange site. Participants must be able to show proof of insurance. Each participant will be required to write an article about what they learned and experienced for use in UCFS’s City Trees publications and possible other organizational publications.
How selections work
Two-way exchange pairings will be made by our selection committee on a “best match” basis. The number of participants will depend on available funding. Participants in local exchange programs may come from different-sized communities and/or different fields to foster exchange of information between local peers working under differing circumstances. Long-distance exchange participants will attempt to be matched with peers coming from similar-sized communities. Ideally, each forestry program will have or do something that the other can learn from – a unique or exemplary program, site condition, problem, etc. The selection committee will consider if an applicant wishes to have an exchange with someone from a preferred city, country, or region. One-way exchange selections will be based on the applicant’s programmatic needs and the potential for a viable learning experience. Cross-organizational exchanges are encouraged.