Tree Board University: Online Training for Cultivating Urban Forestry Advocates (09-DG-11062765-033)

"Tree Board University" is an innovative online training that will cultivate an under-utilized resource - the more than 23,000 members of municipal Tree Boards in the US-to help them become more effective urban forestry advocates. The "Best Practice" for creating new urban forestry advocates would be to focus on these local advocates and help them ascend to become state, regional, or national advocates. The "Best Practice" for delivering educational services to them is through an online curriculum that can help nurture a new network where one does not currently exist. This grant develops and pilots the Tree Board University, a model curriculum and educational delivery system replicable in other US states or among groups of neighboring states. Through the use on streaming video, webinars, discussion boards, chat rooms, and other electronic means, Tree Board members can not only become more educated, they can be inspired to become more effective as well. The Tree Board University concept builds upon a previous NUCFAC grant that developed online educational resources for community tree managers. Creating a new curriculum for a new audience using program delivery lessons learned from a prior grant is an efficient and effective use of NUCFAC grant funds.