Urban Foresters in Arkansas
Certified Arborist Program
Are you interested in becoming a certified Arborist? Foresters with the University of Arkansas' Division of Agriculture work closely with the Arkansas Urban Forestry Council (AUFC) and other organizations to design and deliver workshops that will help you meet your continuing education requirements. The AUFC also provides information about the International Society of Arboriculture and their Certified Arborist program.
What is an Arborist?
An Arborist is someone who specializes in urban or community forest management. They often have forestry degrees or specialized training. Certification is one way to demonstrate a certain level of professionalism.
What is Certification?
Certification is a voluntary program providing recognition of one's professional knowledge by one's peers. International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist recognition is given by the ISA to those who:
- meet the eligibility requirements for admission to the examination as set forth in
the application,
- successfully complete the examination, and
- maintain the necessary number of continuing education units to re-certify after three years.
Benefits of the Certified Arborist Program
Certification builds an individual's self-image. By studying for and passing the exam, individuals reaffirm to themselves and their peers a thorough knowledge and dedication to arboriculture. Certification affords the public and those in government the opportunity to make an informed selection of services based on the knowledge which is represented by the Certification designation. The process of becoming Certified and maintaining the designation provides incentives to the individual to continue his/her on-going professional development. Certification is a tool to help the employer both in training their personnel and selecting new employees.
To find a certified Arborist in your area, go to http://www.isa-arbor.com/ to search by zip code.
Objectives of the Certified Arborist Program
- To be an educational program that will improve technical competency of the personnel
in the tree care industry.
- To create incentives for these individuals to continue their professional development.
- To provide the public and those in government with a means to identify those professionals
who have demonstrated, through a professionally developed exam and education program,
that they have a thorough knowledge of tree care practices.
eLEARN: Urban Forestry
If you are interested in on-line education, you can access the Southern Regional Extension Forestry's eLearn: Urban Forestry program.
Together with the USDA Forest Service Region 8--Urban and Community Forestry Program and the Southern Group of State Foresters, the Southern Regional Extension Forestry (SREF) has designed, developed and implemented a state-of-the-art online, distance-learning program geared specifically toward beginning urban foresters and those allied professionals working in and around urban and urbanizing landscapes including service foresters, natural resource planners, landscape architects, city officials, public works employees and others.
Topic areas taught within eLearn: Urban Forestry include:
- Tree Growth and Development
- Urban Soils
- Site and Tree Selection and Planting
- Assessing and Managing Tree Risk
- Tree Disorders, Diagnosis and Management
- Trees and Construction
- Policy and Urban Forest Management