Annual Minnesota Shade Tree Short Course
March 17-18, 2009
Bethel University, Arden Hills
Register online.
View a PDF copy of the brochure.
Welcome
This is a two-day course for everyone involved in urban forestry and arboriculture. ISA Certified Arborist CEUs are available for all sessions.
Challenges…that pretty well sums up the urban forestry forecast for at least the immediate future. Aside from declining federal, state, agency, municipal, company, and personal budgets – which for the most part have been lean or declining for several years – Minnesota’s urban forests and the people who cherish and manage them continue to be challenged from just about every direction. Introduced, invasive threats to trees and other natural resources; shifts in labor markets and required basic skills; the demand to perform more and better with fewer resources; tighter “government” regulations; and 10 years of the screwiest weather patterns the country has experienced. A person can give up, whine, and wait for a decision to be made by someone else, or…equip yourself with the best information, the newest skills, and the determination to accept and solve the challenges.
The Minnesota Shade Tree Short Course offers the finest resources for communities and urban foresters that live with positive mental attitudes. Here you find fellowship and the chance to learn from each other, the opportunity to equip yourself with the best and most cutting-edge information needed to solve challenges, and two-days of skill development. No matter where you turn on March 17 and 18, 2009, there’s an opportunity to learn, become a better employee and a more effective employer. Not only will there be a total of 37 different general or concurrent sessions, the extended exhibit area will also offer learning opportunities: knot tying, tree ID quizzes, watering trees (how much, how to), and things that look, smell, and sound like invasive insects, just to name a few.
When money is tight it should be used wisely. The 2009 Minnesota Shade Tree Short Course has one registration fee. No additional parking fees. No need to go off-site and find a restaurant. No need to look for a vending machine. It’s all included. And we’re easy to find. Bethel University is less than a minute off of I-694. No congestion. No traffic lights to stack up behind. Lots and lots of trees, water, and open space. It’s the perfect place to talk about Minnesota’s natural resources, people, and solving challenges.
Featuring a few of our speakers at the Short Course this year:
 "Bringing Nature Home"With as many as 33,000 species imperiled in the U.S., it is clear that we must change our approach to gardening and landscaping if we hope to share the spaces we live and work with other living things. Native plants will play a key role in the restoration of our landscapes because only natives provide the coevolved relationships required by animals. By supporting a diversity of insect herbivores, native plants provide food for a large and healthy community of natural enemies that keep herbivores in balance and our gardens aesthetically pleasing. Gardening in this crowded world carries both moral and ecological responsibilities that we can no longer ignore. Doug Tallamy is Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, where he has authored 68 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, and other courses for 28 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book “Bringing Nature Home; How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writer’s Association. |
 “Landscape Consequences of Minnesota Climate Trends”Significant climate trends in Minnesota include: upward trends in temperature, especially winter; increased frequency of tropical-like dewpoints in summer; and amplified variability in precipitation with implications for both droughts and floods. All of these features lead to observable consequences in the Minnesota landscape, which will be described and discussed. Dr. Mark Seeley is a Professor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate where he has worked for 31 years as Extension Climatologist. He is author of the book “Minnesota Weather Almanac” and has been a commentator for Minnesota Public Radio for over 16 years. He also helps produce the weekly public radio science podcast “Jet Streaming” and has edited two series of children’s weather books for Twin Cities publishers. |
 "These Ain’t Your Grandfathers Crabapples"Misunderstood and often maligned, crabapples seem to have a polarizing effect on our clients. Many love them but some absolutely hate them. But when a landscape plan calls for a flowering tree, crabapples are the first plants we think about. But all crabapples are not alike. Some selections truly are inferior landscape plants, but many other species and cultivars have colorful flower and fruit displays, excellent disease resistance, and growth habits to match any site. Sign up for this session and learn about the best crabapple selections for the upper Midwest. Dr. Jeff Iles is Professor and Chair of the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. He teaches, conducts applied research, and provides Extension programming in the areas of garden center management, plant material usage, and landscape plant establishment. He received his B.S. from Michigan State University, M.S. from Penn State University, and Ph.D. from Iowa State University (all degrees in horticulture). Jeff has managed retail garden centers in suburban Detroit, Michigan and Denver, Colorado, and in his spare time he is an ice hockey referee. |
 "Trees and Underground Pipes from a Problem into a Resource"To obtain the best possible compromise for the trees in an urban environment, we must also find out why they feel bad and why they are damaging the infrastructure. In Sweden and some other countries in Europe we have the last 20 years trying to find out why this happens. Why our urban trees are worse and worse and why trees can grow up and damage the whole modern sewers intact. This work has been carried out inter-disciplinary containing several professional lines such as architects, engineers, biologist’s arborist, etc. The result is that instead to see others' interests as a problem; it has managed to get it as a resource in its own operations. Orjan Stal is a trained landscape engineer at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU. He has researched and worked to find practical solutions between trees and technical infrastructure for nearly 20 years. Örjans main topic has been research focusing on root intrusion in sewer pipes and revitalization of existing mature trees in urban areas. He works half-time as a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the mid-term as an independent consultant. Örjan has entered into several groups of experts in the field of trees and technical infrastructure for the European Union. He is often enlisted as an expert at the major infrastructure projects in Scandinavia. |
New This Year!
One: Extended Hours. There will be at least 15 minutes between the end of one concurrent session and the beginning of the next. As wonderful as Bethel University is as a host site, it can take some time to travel from one session to the next. Your movement between sessions this year will be more of a stroll than a trot!
Two: 45 -Minute Sessions. Several sessions are 45 minutes in length to accommodate the extended time between concurrent sessions. However, there will still be 50-minute, 55-minute, and double-sessions for those topics that require the extra time.
Three: Exhibit Area Classes. There will be a formal 45 -minute exhibit area break and short topic sessions each afternoon. This will be an opportunity for you to take a tree ID quiz and add to your CEUs if you are an ISA Certified Arborist. Or, you can learn some all-purpose rope knots. All of the break-time sessions are 15 minutes long which gives you the opportunity to visit booths and vendors, have a cold drink, and take a few minutes to learn something new.
Four: Certified Arborist Exam Prep Class. If you are preparing to take the International Society of Arboriculture’s Certified Arborist or Tree Worker’s exam, Gail Nozal and friends will be offering a double session, test preparation workshop during one of the afternoons. A perfect time to meet your Minnesota Society of Arboriculture’s Certification Liaison (Gail) and gain an edge on the examination.
Gary Johnson
Department of Forest Resources, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota
Certification and Credit
Certified tree inspectors will be recertified by attending the entire short course. ISA CEUs will be given for many sessions.
Program Partners
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota
Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota
Minnesota Shade Tree Advisory Committee
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department of Transportation
Minnesota Society of Arboriculture
Minnesota Tree Care Advisor Program
University of Minnesota Extension Service
Ensuring Tree Health Since 1963
