Managing trees and shrubs on city property can be time consuming and costly, especially if not managed properly.  The Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service and City of Owensboro partnered to offer the Certified Arborist Preparation Training at the request of the City Grounds Manager.  The grounds manager wanted to become a Certified Arborist and to teach the employees he supervises how to properly prune and manage trees in parks, along streets, and in sports complexes owned by the city.  This would in turn help him with better communications with his team to improve practices used, reduce costs since the maintenance staff would be more efficient, and provide a model of tree maintenance and care for the community.   The horticulture agent offered the course through Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021 through 5 morning sessions with Dr. William Fountain, University of Kentucky Arboriculture Specialist, teaching the science-based information. The program was offered to other agents and city grounds maintenance groups.  A total of 15 participants joined in the training.

There were eight participants from the City of Owensboro.  Through a written survey five months after the program, seven participates from the city staff reported: 100% learned about pruning practices and how a tree compartmentalizes after pruning; and 86% learned about the time of year to fertilize trees, about plant health care, value of species diversity, tree risk assessment, and proper tree installation practices.  As the result of the training since January, they have used the following practices:  100% used proper pruning techniques and identifying pests; and 86% used proper tree installation practices and considerations of the environment and how it impacts tree health.  One comment indicated that soil and water management information is being used and problems with mulch are identified.  Over half of them indicated they would likely take the arborist certification exam within one year. The participants reported the value of this training to them as $1000 to $10,000 plus with the Grounds Manager saying the training was priceless. The training was provided at no cost to the participants or the City of Owensboro.   The resulting benefit of participating in the program was stated as being more confident working with trees and knowing how to take care of them.  One participant stated:  “I feel more confident in talking to citizens that come to us with problems and helping to train new employees coming into this line of work and how important trees are to us and to our future generations.”