People take the path of least resistance. Organizations, management, and habits lean toward the path of least resistance. That is not the path of urban forestry. Urban forestry is not the easiest, simplest, most familiar, or most comfortable route. Urban forestry professionals often find requests, budgets, participation, and opportunities are a low priority with an organization, legislation, and competitive budgets. While it can seem easier to avoid the complexity of urban forestry work, cost, conflicts, liabilities, and responsibility of management, avoidance will lead to irreversible ecological erosion, infrastructural deterioration, missed growth, lost benefits, environmental degradation, and answerability. We must recognize and confront trends toward the easy way out, or intentionally avoiding the harder, more meaningful route.
Forestry & Management of the Urban Forest
With regards to resistance, urban forestry has a quality similar to electricity. I’m not talking about the urban forest. The physical attributes of an urban forest are in plain sight within the urban landscape, street rights-of-way, and our personal experiences. This is not the same for the “forestry,” or management of the urban forest. Both urban forestry and electricity must be produced, discharged, and put to use in order to exist at all. Both can be engineered to create efficient and livable environments. Unfortunately, both are largely taken for granted. Things unseen often are. Homes, businesses, and industries are insulated from the professions, capital, and framework associated with urban forestry.
Electrical resistance is a measure of opposition to current flow. For urban forestry, resistance is any opposition to progress. The larger the resistance, the greater the barrier against the advancement of current, or progress. In an electrical system, once energy is applied, electrons start moving along a conductor. While moving, the electrons slide and collide with the atoms and molecules within the material, or make up of the conductor. The level of resistance will depend upon the nature of the material to which energy and efforts are applied.
The same is true inside urban forestry. Tree-care professionals, practitioners, arboricultural practices, and advocacy should better understand, and alter where they can, the makeup, or characteristics of the various conduits that exist within our community – politics, social, cultural, and competing entities. To overcome resistance, efforts need to be directed toward points of conflict, friction, and collisions between urban forestry and opposing criteria. This is not a path of least resistance.
Urban Forestry Resistance
Can the resistance of a conduit be altered or transformed? In an electrical system, it can. Consider the tree that comes in contact with electricity – such as with an overhead electrical distribution line. The tree becomes a conduit for the transfer of electrical energy. Wood is not a great conductor. The flow of energy meets resistance. The flow is slow. At the forefront, electrical energy is converted to heat energy, and the wood burns. If sustained, the current will slowly burn its way down the wood of the tree. Burnt wood is transformed into carbon. Carbon is a better conductor of electricity. Electrical energy flows easily down a carbon path etched into the wood of the tree until it reaches ground zero – boom! Exciting things happen.
In urban forestry, resistant processes, systems, and entities can also be altered to improve conductivity. If there is a lot of resistance, progress may be slow and won’t be made without a little heat. If urban forestry is to succeed, efforts need to be sustained. We should roll up our sleeves and run toward trouble spots. In our industry, we can’t run from trouble. There’s no place that far. Eventually, when we do reach ground zero, exciting things will happen.
Resistance to urban forestry may be acute or chronic. Whichever the case, urban forestry systems must be strong and adaptable enough to confront whatever opposition comes our way.
Common factors of resistance include:
- Fractionalization of urban forests.
- Status Quo – doing the bare minimum.
- Attractive incentives for incompatible alternatives.
- Unrealized intrinsic value and fundamental worth of urban forest resources.
- Fear of risks, liabilities, and accountability associated with trees.
- Uncertainty in the tree-care workforce.
Urban Forest Resources
Fractionalization, or segmentation of urban forest resources, creates a significant form of resistance. The complexity and sheer scale of autonomous parts and pieces can make urban forestry seem like an uphill climb. The advantages of a sole source provider do not exist – that’s not urban forestry. The division of ownership, property rights, intended use, and available funds can interrupt the essential services urban forestry delivers to an ever-expanding service territory. Certainly, being responsible for the resources within our respective interests, expertise, or jurisdiction is essential, but we must not insulate ourselves from the interface and boundaries of our individual urban forestry perspective. Conflict resolution through collaboration and unification will always be part of the process.
Forestry Status Quo
Progress can be slow with the status quo. Maintaining the status quo, or doing the bare minimum, is often the path of least resistance. It is seldom an option for advancement or growth. Nor is it an option for survival. Status quo often leads to social conformity – following existing social norms rather than challenging them. If the current state of affairs remains the same, urban forestry, as an industry, is in trouble.
A status quo is not all bad. It can provide a comfort level of familiarity, appreciation for what we can control, and a cruising speed for an established urban forest program. The complexity of urban forestry often allows it. Limitations often require it. Still, a status quo can make us resistant to change and have a powerful effect on decision-making.
Attractive incentives and short-term gains from other expanding markets and alternative land use can cause development and urbanization to turn a blind eye to long-term benefits and investments in forest resources. Strategic efforts to ease barriers for commerce, development, and urbanization are creating a path of least resistance for alternatives to urban forestry. Florida’s Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) provides incentives for aggressive economic development in three distinct Rural Areas of Opportunity (RAO). Northwest communities are organized under Opportunity Florida. North-central counties are marked by the North Florida Economic Development Partnership (NFEDP); and south-central counties are advocated by the Florida Heartland Economic Region of Opportunity (FHERO). If not careful, fast-track decisions will incur risks to people, property, and ecosystems.
Urban Forestry Green Industry
Urban forestry is not in conflict with economic growth and business opportunities. In fact, the promotion of the green industry complements, completes, and protects it. Urban forest tree canopies are in sync with business opportunities and growth, but urban forestry principles and practices need to be in the mix. Strategic urban forest management resources, collaboration, guidelines, legislation, boundaries, and advocacy will increase the conductivity of Florida communities; but they need to be in place steadfast.
Unrealized intrinsic value and fundamental worth of urban forest resources; fear of tree-related hazards, risks, liabilities, and accountability associated with trees on property; and uncertainty in the tree-care workforce caused by labor-intensive work, regulatory pressure, rapid turnover, and ill-defined career paths are not simply challenges; they are crippling obstacles within the entire industry.
Let us go back for a moment to an electrical system. Resistance is equal to voltage divided by current (R=V/I). Voltage is symbolic of the pressure and work needed to move progress in a positive direction. Current is synonymous with the rate of progress, achievements, and headway urban forestry initiatives are making. As progress increases, resistance decreases. Therefore, current achievements need to be seen, funded, transparent, rewarded, and celebrated. This is exactly why the National Arbor Day Foundation “currently” promotes the celebration of trees.
Urban Forestry Conductivity
In an electrical system, conductivity is the opposite of resistance. Conductivity is a material’s ability to allow the flow of energy. Within the discipline of urban forestry, there are several conductive conduits that will enhance the flow of progress within a community. Conductivity can be measured by the level of staffing, ordinances, advocacy, and planning in place.
Common factors of conductivity inside urban forestry include:
- Professional staff (arborists, foresters, landscape architects, tree-care providers, etc.)
- Tree protection ordinances.
- Conservation easements.
- Available & affordable green industry solutions and services.
- Research, educational programs & campaigns.
- Institutional protocols & procedures.
- Transcending/generational masterplans.
- Financial incentives.
Superconductors are where electrons (electricity) are allowed to flow superfast. Internally, electrons are no longer flowing independently. They pair up and increase in strength. By pairing up with partner organizations, available funds, parallel missions, talent, memberships, and sponsorships, urban forestry systems can become superconductors for progress and achievement.
FUFC Creates Superconductors
The Florida Urban Forestry Council (FUFC) exists to create superconductors. The FUFC’s mission is to improve the cohesiveness of several professions, disciplines, allied organizations, and other entities to develop a united front. It’s all about solutions – cost-effective, sustainable, obtainable solutions.
Choosing the path of urban forestry will require adopting a proper mindset, changing habits, and consciously building developmental boundaries, structural designs, and controls. Continuing along the difficult path of urban forestry will increase our stamina, stance, confidence, professional development, and long/short term rewards. We must strive to energize our communities and strengthen both the conductivity and the ability to overcome resistance.
