Stewarding the Forest & Its Foresters

Hands-On Workshops
We offer twice a year hands-on workshops on pruning and mulching taught by certified arborists. Workshops are open to everyone. And we learn by doing as we help prune sections of the neighborhood forest needing pruning and mulching. We then return to these areas year after year to observe and learn from the effects of our past pruning. Continuing Education Credits available.

Pruning & mulching workshop taught by certified arborist, and owner of the Pedaling Arborist, Aleck McKinnon. After the demonstration portion of the workshop, Aleck and other instructors guide the students as they practice what they are learning by pruning and mulching a section of the neighborhood’s forest in need of such work.
Photo: Brad Lancaster

Hands-On Work & Learn stewarding parties and their support crews
We prioritize where we hold our Work & Learn stewarding parties (pruning, mulching, planting, weeding, enhancing pedestrian access, etc) where the work needs to be done in the neighborhood and where there is a neighbor or two in that part of the neighborhood willing to help organize the stewarding party.

Similarly, we support Neighborhood Foresters who have stepped up to regularly steward their section of the neighborhood forest (could be as little as a round-a-bout or as big as a one-block stretch of public right-of-way). A big way we do this is with volunteer crews we bring out to help that Neighborhood Forester.

That way we help each other as we help the larger community.

Volunteer crew after doing an incredible job of pruning to regain access to public footpaths that had been blocked by previously unpruned overgrowth. Prunings were then chipped into water-conserving, soil-building mulch.
Photo: Brad Lancaster

Tool library
At our Work & Learn stewarding parties and workshops we lend tools from our tool library to those lacking tools.

Tools include hand bypass pruners, hand pruning saws, bypass loppers, pole saw, and pole loppers.

Neighborhood Foresters who have achieved Levels 2 and up can check out a professional-grade Neighborhood Forester pole saw and/or pole lopper from our tool library.

Professional-grade pole lopper, extension pole, and pole saw available for Level 2 and up Neighborhood Foresters to check out. Pole tools and regular hand loppers on left are available for all to use at our workshops and Work & Learn stewarding parties.

Neighborhood Forester rewards of tools, shirt, and more
For those committing to, and achieving one or all four levels of Neighborhood Forester you can pick from the following for each level of Forester you achieve:

• Neighborhood Forester-branded hand pruners and sheath,
• Neighborhood Forester pruning saw and sheath,
• tool sharpener,
• Neighborhood Forester stickers
• Neighborhood Foresters shirt,
• native wildflower and habitat restoration seed mixes,
• OR adolescent saguaro (providing a living totem and future harvests) to identify and support your stewarding efforts.

Neighborhood Forester organic-cotton shirt, pruning saws and sheath, bypass pruners and Neighborhood Foresters-branded leather sheath, and sharpening tool—all available for those achieving Neighborhood Foresters Levels 1 through 4.

For more on how you can be a neighborhood forester, and be supported/stewarded…
• Sign up to be notified of our events

• Check out our Four Levels of Neighborhood Foresters page for different levels of commitment and support