Forest Park Arboriculture Crew Promotes Professionalism & Safety

Thanks to a grant from the Midwest Chapter of the International Society (MW-ISA) of Arboriculture, the Forest Park Arboriculture Crew (FPAC) now has one of the largest and most complete arboriculture training libraries in the region. 

The successful grant proposal allowed the city to purchase $1,300 worth of training manuals and certification guides to further both professionalism and safety. Items now in FPAC's possession include a training DVD, interactive CD, exam and certification manuals, the ISA Safety Standard and various reference books. With these items, FPAC's Joshua Carron hosted two division-wide training sessions revolving around obtaining arborist certification, membership in ISA and safe work practices in daily forestry operations. 

FPAC is a department within the City's Department of Parks, Recreation & Forestry. With funds provided by Forest Park Forever, the team cares for the 45,000 trees that call Forest Park home. They also work closely with the Forest Park Forever Land Management team and the rest of their colleagues at the City's Forestry Division — all of whom will benefit from the training materials that were purchased thanks to the grant from MW-ISA. St. Louis' 25.9 million annual visitors and its 319,000 residents will also benefit because a well-trained, well-educated and ISA-certified arborist staff will be working to improve the safety and aesthetics of the City's urban tree population.