Cultivating Tree Advocates on City Council

Having a tree advocate or two among government decision makers can be a game changer for a public urban
forestry program.

Urban forestry programs often operate on tight budgets and urban forest managers must continually advocate for funding from internal and external sources. Having a supportive mayor, city council member, county commissioner, division supervisor, or any other role with sway over budgets and priorities, can make a huge difference in getting the staff and resources needed to grow a healthy urban forest.

Public and political awareness of the importance of trees has come a long way in the last two decades, but in many communities the benefits of urban forests are still unrecognized or underappreciated. Even when a government values trees, urban forest projects must compete with other public services from a general fund that is often stretched thin.

So, how do you turn those in charge into tree advocates? Make the benefits and risks of urban forestry real and relatable through canopy data visuals, inventory statistics, and urban forest management plan benchmarking. Reenforcing your messaging with numbers brings a measurable context to the conversation. Below, we’ve gathered lessons from urban forestry professionals who’ve used different types of data to grab attention and foster support from their government leaders.

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