Did you know more than 100,000 trees are maintained in Lincoln not including those in forests or backyards?
Arboriculture focuses on “the care and maintenance of an individual tree,” according to Dr. Eric North, associate professor of practice with the School of Natural Resources. This takes the focus from looking at trees as a system like in a forest, to focusing on care for the individual tree, as seen here with Lincoln’s maintained trees.
Now students with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have the opportunity to study arboriculture as part of a new degree program offered in regional and community forestry at SNR. Arboriculture currently is listed as NRES 299: Special topics for the spring semester.
The course will take students on a journey focusing on trees as individuals and learning how to maintain them. Students will participate in both lecture and lab to learn the basic biology of a tree; how to prune, plant or remove tree; and even how to climb them. Students will take a field trip to watch a technical tree removal; practice pruning in a teaching garden; plant and dig up trees; and learn about tree root systems. North also hopes to provide a climbing demonstration that gives students hands-on climbing experience, should they choose to try it.
By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate basic site preparation, planting, and pruning of woody trees and shrubs. Students also will be able to evaluate plants in relation to planting, pruning, and health, and devise a detailed tree selection plan through site selection criteria and client objectives.
The course is a beginner-level one offered to any interested students with junior standing. Students interested in landscape architecture, horticulture, landscape or city planning, construction, or anyone who has an interest in learning to care for trees is welcome to enroll.
The class will be from 10 to 10:50 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Hardin 162, with the lab component from 2 to 4:50 p.m. on Wednesdays.
North is a certified arborist, with a doctorate in urban forestry and tree growth. He taught this course previously at The University of Minnesota.
Amber MacInnis, Natural Resources