1.
Training Tree Stewards
in the Time of Zoom

2.
Reforest Our City: Mission Statement
The mission of Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Reforest Our City Program is to increase
Cleveland’s tree canopy by growing trees, advocating for mature trees, and engaging residents and
volunteers.
Cleveland’s urban tree canopy is currently 17.8% and declining.

3.
Program Needs
Tree advocates in local
neighborhoods
Labor Community Partners and Allies
Experienced lead volunteers to plant trees and
teach new volunteers

4.
Tree Stewards
Tree Stewards are highly engaged, well trained tree planting
volunteers and neighborhood advocates.

5.
Program Pre-2020
• Primarily white
• Primarily suburban/exurban
• Over 300 community members
attended trainings
• Limited engagement in plantings
in Cleveland
Participation
Engagement
In-Person Format
• 3 nightly sessions, 3 hours each
• 1 full-day planting lab
• Arboriculture focused
Curriculum

6.
Program Post-2020
• 50% from low canopy target
neighborhoods in Cleveland
• Staff and Lead Plantings
• Staff and Lead Tree Care
Workdays
• Join neighborhood Tree
Coalitions
Participation
Engagement
Zoom Format
• 4 sessions 3 hours each
• 1 in person planting lab
• 1 in person pruning lab

7.
Program After 2020
• How to plant a tree
• Young tree pruning principals
• How to talk to your neighbors
about trees
• Tree ID breaks
• Cleveland-specific Treevia
Fundamentals
Practical Applications
By demand
• Tree Biology
• Benefits of Trees
• Trees and Equity
• State of urban forestry in
Cleveland

8.
Training Volunteers Over Zoom

9.
• Multiple Presenters
• Short Topics/Ample
Breaks
• Printed Manual
• Homework
• Review each week
• Build on each week
Keeping it Interesting

10.
Keeping it Interactive
Use Zoom Features

11.
Keeping it Interactive
• Use Zoom Features
• Chat
• Polls
• Breakout Rooms

12.
What are some
benefits of trees?

13.
Tree ID #3:
What tree am I?

14.
Breakout
rooms:
discuss and
analyze your
sites
 Discuss a site in your neighborhood that you think
would be a great tree planting location. What are the
site characteristics.
 Identify the stakeholders for your site.
 How will you get their support?
 What permission do you need to plant?

15.
Keeping it Interactive
• Use Zoom Features
• Polls
• Chat
• Breakout Rooms
• Annotate

16.
Activity –
Annotate! We are going to do an activity using the
ANNOTATE toolbar. Find the toolbar in VIEW
OPTIONS. Use the STAMP to mark where you
would prune a tree on the following slides.

17.
Keeping it Interactive
• Use Zoom Features
• Polls
• Chat
• Breakout Rooms
• Annotate
• Get Creative
• Props

18.
Props

19.
Keeping it Interactive
• Use Zoom Features
• Polls
• Chat
• Breakout Rooms
• Annotate
• Get Creative
• Props
• Get Feedback
• During the session

20.
Give us your feedback!
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=AP6fUKjzl02TEQu_W
DOMjNi5agwowPJHj2Y9L960LxFUQ0hMTlpGSE02Sjc1MVZGR0UyOUxUS1g5
Ny4u

21.
“More Breakout Rooms! I like talking directly
to classmates.”
“Content was good but we needed more breaks during
anatomy”
“I like the polls, are we going to have more Tree Identification?”

22.
• Over 60% of survey respondents replied that most or all of the content was new
to them each week.
• Over 100% of survey respondents replied that some, most or all of the content
was new to them each week.
• 99% said that the length of each sessions was ‘About Right’
• 100% said the pacing was ‘About Right’
• over 90% rated the sessions as very good or excellent. 0 respondents said a
session was fair or poor.

23.
In Person Labs

24.
Results
• Reached residents in target
neighborhoods
• Improved training
• More engagement in volunteer
events
• Built for the future

25.
Reforest Our City Staff
Lizzie Sords
Community Forestry
Specialist
Erica Henrichsen
Community Forestry
Specialist

26.
Thank You
tschreiber@wrlandconservancy.org
wrlandconservancy.org
Tom Schreiber