Course information 

There is significant interest and investment in growing a more robust tree canopy across the US by planting more trees in urbanized areas. Planning for and planting a more robust tree canopy necessitates planning for the inevitable turnover of the individual trees that make up an urban or community forest.  Wood from urban areas is most often treated as a waste instead of an opportunity. There is more wood that goes to landfills from urban areas than is harvested from our national forests. There is an urgent need to reduce wood and woody debris going to landfills, to expand workforce development opportunities, and to invest in economic development capacity in cities.  

The Forest Service’s and CalFire’s Urban Wood Academy is designed to expand knowledge and engagement in the growth of urban wood utilization.  Hosting the December CA Urban Wood Academy in San Marcos, California partners, national and regional experts focus on scaling up urban wood utilization by addressing a wide range of urban wood enterprises - from artisan product development to large volume dimensional timber production - and the technologies and opportunities surrounding the urban wood sector in California and beyond.

Is this course for you?

This is for you if: you are an arborist; a urban or community forest manager; a city or municipal employee who deals with urban and community trees and/or with wood waste disposal; are looking to incorporate urban wood into the full life cycle and planning phases of a long-term forest management action plan in your city or community; an artisanal woodworker wanting to get involved in production of local wood and/or get connected into local wood sourcing and business scaling opportunities; if  you are interested in a range of urban wood utilization topics including scaling up, on-site aggregation, multi-product processes, and demand-side development; if you concerned with local wood waste and looking for solutions that are economically viable; and /or if you want to tap into a network of experts who are building a regenerative circular economy around local wood and local jobs. 

Open registration

Registration is rolling enrollment starting August 2023.

Pricing

This series is provided free of charge to SAF members and non-members because of a collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and CalFire.  

Join SAF TODAY to take advantage of the growing member benefits, including course savings on our other ForestEd courses.

Course start date

Get started immediately! Course content will be accessible upon enrollment.

Registration period

Registration for this virtual workshop series will remain open through December 31, 2024 at 11:55 pm ET. 

Course pace

This course is self-paced with an expected completion time frame of 6 hours. This workshop must be completed in sequence and viewed in entirety to progress to the next component (presentation, activity, or session). Once you complete a component, you can return to any of the previous components.

Session 1: State of Urban Wood (Research & Practice)

• 24 Minute Presentation
• 8 Question Quiz

Session 2: Scaling Up Urban Wood Reutilization

• 1 Hour 23 Minute Presentation
• 25 Question Quiz

Session 3: Exploring Urban Wood Utilization By-products

• 48 Minute Presentation
• 15 Question Quiz

Session 4: Regenerative Ecologies and System Thinking Approach

• 39 Minute Presentation
• 14 Question Quiz

Session 5: A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us

• 48 Minute Presentation
• 8 Question Quiz

Session 6: Urban Wood Vertical: Lessons Learned California Style

• 44 Minute Presentation
• 20 Question Quiz

Session 7: Feasibility of Establishing an Urban Wood Processing Center

• 48 Minute Presentation
• 20 Question Quiz

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this virtual workshop, you will be able to:

1. Describe the function and purpose of urban wood utilization and reutilization.

2. Identify key stakeholders, processes, and available funding infrastructure to support implementing urban wood projects.

3. Explain the nuances and conditions that frame the dynamic of and demonstrated opportunities for urban wood markets and systems across the country, specifically California and Tennessee.

4. Indicate the value and opportunity of urban wood byproducts.

5. Summarize the regenerative ecologies model and share (a) where you are in the system depicted by the model, and (b) which partners are needed to complete the cycle for an effective functioning system.

6. Recognize California's urban and community forest ecosystem.

7. Highlight how California demonstrated integrating verticals into the urban wood system.

8. Describe the discoveries observed from implementing a pilot urban lumber operation.

Rubric

Successful completion of the virtual workshop is measured by completing each component/session. You have unlimited viewings during the open access period of this virtual workshop.

Course Evaluation

Your feedback is appreciated to help the workshop curators and subject matter experts continually improve for future participants and future virtual workshop series.

CFEs and ISA CEUs

Upon successful completion of this course, you will earn 5.5 CFEs in Category 1. For SAF members, CFEs will automatically be added to your CFE record located on www.eforester.org. 

ISA CEUs are available at completion of this virtual workshop, for those certified with ISA. The ISA CEUs available are 5.5 ISA BCMA Management, 5.5 ISA Certified Arborist, 5.5 Utility Specialist, and 5.5 Municipal Specialist. For ISA members, SAF will intermittently report completion of the virtual workshop to ISA. You must fill out the optional ISA survey at the end of the course to receive your CEUs.

Certificate

Upon successful completion of this course and course evaluation, participants may download and print a certificate verifying completion of the course and earning CFEs. CFEs will be uploaded to participant CFE records by the end of the day (11:59 pm ET). 

Get Started or Return to Place in Course

Once you are registered for the course, access this course within your MY DASHBOARD. You can pause at any point during the course, and you can return right where you last left off. Simply select the presentation you were last viewing, and you will be prompted to select if you wish to start where you left off. 

Course Resources

Additional course resources are available within the Additional Resources tab and within the Contents tab course sections.

Need Help?

For ForestEd questions, visit FAQs, email ForestEdSupport@safnet.org, or watch the Course Tutorial within the Contents tab. For questions about this course's content email info@uweconomy.org.  For technical assistance, go to help.commpartners.com for self-troubleshooting and/or live chat, or you can email ForestEdSupport@safnet.org. 

Refund

This is a non-refundable item. Please view FAQs for additional information.