The 20-member VT Urban & Community Advisory Council is currently seeking an individual to fill a "volunteer representative" seat to join the group to guide and support the Urban & Community Forestry Program and its staff.
In early June, UVM forestry students teamed up with the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program to plant 16 new trees at the Castleton Public Library through our Check Out Forestry program.
Arriving at the Montpelier Tree Nursery one drizzly morning in early May, I carried a shovel, some pruning shears, garbage bags, and a giant ball of twine. The task at hand was not to plant trees, but to un-plant them.
The Community Tree Fund, supported through a sponsorship from the Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) will support 6 small-scale tree planting projects through mini-grants.
Last fall, VT UCF filmed a series of short instructional videos to support proper tree planting of bareroot, containerized, and balled and burlapped trees. As you get ready for spring planting, check them out!
We love our trees on town greens and playgrounds, but all too often, we love them to death. Lawn mowers and foot traffic are primary sources of mechanical injury and soil compaction that can impact a tree's health and survival. Properly applying mulch is the best first step towards protecting these well-loved trees.
A thriving community forest doesn’t happen by accident — it starts with neighbors coming together to understand what’s already growing around them. This year, commit to looking at your municipality’s tree inventory data if it is stored in the State’s databases. Is it current? Is it useful? If no data exists, could you be the one to start collecting it?
This fall Morristown Centennial Library and Northfield Elementary School partnered with VT UCF to complete urban forestry improvements. Tree species were placed intentionally to deliver targeted benefits on their grounds, so they can offer more shade, year round enjoyment, and ecological services to their patrons. A total of 19 trees and 17 shrubs were planted by VT UCF and volunteers.
In this edition of our Urban Forester's Column, Adz explains why it's important to use ethanol free gasoline in your chainsaw, and exposes a dirty little secret of gas pumps.
Noah Hoffman, VT FPR's Invasive Species Coordinator, provides a summary of 2025 news and activity related to the introduced invasive emerald ash borer in Vermont.
VT UCF is pleased to announced that $40,000 in cost-share grants will be available to municipalities and public educational institutions to support a range of urban and community forestry activities through our 2026 Communities Caring for Canopy grants. Applications are due January 30th, 2026.
On Friday, October 17th, 21 Vermont arborists and tree care professionals donated their expertise and skills to prune 18 trees in and around the campground at Little River State Park in Waterbury.
For more than 30 years, the Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program has cultivated healthy urban forests and thriving communities. Since 1991, we’ve supported over 175 Vermont communities and awarded more than $3 million in grants through 1,000+ projects. Your sponsorship helps us grow this impact!
According to a 2021 CDC survey, nearly a quarter of Vermonters have some form of disability—and about 10 percent face mobility-specific challenges—yet only 1 percent of Vermont’s 7,750+ trail miles are listed as “accessible” on Trail Finder[1]. This means a significant percentage of Vermont’s residents and visitors have a challenging time accessing and enjoying our forests and open spaces.
This summer the Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation is beginning to treat a number of black ash trees on state lands with systemic insecticide to protect against the emerald ash borer.
The selection of branch arrangement is the most challenging pruning concept to understand. It is easy to understand pruning for clearance over a building, or to remove deadwood, but unlike those more common prunes, structural pruning and selecting branch arrangement is difficult to sum up. VT UCF Adam McCullough breaks down his approach to structural pruning and takes a deep dive into the topic of girdling branches in this edition of our Urban Forester's Column.
This year we're supporting tree planting projects on public libraries with the Check Out Forestry project. Hinesburg's Carpenter-Carse Library was the first to receive trees this spring.
Two black ash splint pounding workshops brought communities together in Castleton and Tinmouth in mid-June. Black ash is very susceptible to emerald ash borer infestation yet is an ecological and cultural cornerstone of the region. From seed saving to splint pounding, VT UCF is joining the effort to ensure a future for black ash on the landscape and with communities.
