Guest Blog by: Hannah Mobley
I am so grateful for my summer spent with the Georgia Forestry Commission. I have grown immensely as an upcoming young professional in the realm of Urban and Community Forestry, thanks to this job opportunity. With the help of Lea Clark and Seth Hawkins, along with many other people at the Georgia Forestry Commission, my knowledge and skillset have blossomed. I have approached every day at this job with passion and a curiosity to learn more.
Urban and Community Forestry spans such a wide variety of topics, and I have gotten the opportunity to gain experience in many different areas. Opportunities for growth have been presented in community outreach and engagement, learning various online applications, developing skills in tree health and tree measurements, and through attending various online webinars. Every day presented new opportunities to learn, and I took each one given to me!
Whether I was out in the field or in the office, I always had a project to keep me busy. Aiding communities by dropping off outreach materials at various town halls, conducting tree risk assessments, mapping invasive species for restoration plans, or presenting at different events kept every day on the job different. Joining Lea Clark on tree risk assessments for various communities helped me to learn more about tree pests and diseases. There are always clues about what could have happened to a damaged tree, and it is important to try to get the whole story of what took place.
Office work consisted of working with iTree Canopy, ArcGIS Online, helping out with different projects, preparing presentation materials, reading and reviewing different informative materials, as well as attending various webinars and calls. iTree Canopy is a website affiliated with the iTree suite of tools that can assess the canopy percentage of a city or municipality. I utilized this tool for the cities of Bowman, Calhoun, and Thunderbolt. ArcGIS Online was used in many applications, including walking through a kudzu patch to help David Long map invasive species in Oxford. ArcGIS Online was also used to create planting maps for different organizations applying for various grant programs provided through the Georgia Forestry Commission.
I have met many people with different backgrounds this summer, but the common theme through all of the people I’ve met is their love for trees. Many people care about their trees, and care about people within their communities having the opportunity to safely enjoy their trees. The theme of this summer was the trees, the communities, and the people who cared about them.
I would like to give a huge thank you to the Georgia Forestry Commission for everything this summer. I am so grateful.