As my first term as a Community Tree Steward comes to an end I am left reflecting on all I have learned this year.
I have always loved plants, but in college that love blossomed into a passion. I centered plants in my education as much as I possibly could, weaving them into every project and paper where there was any relevance. After I graduated in 2024, that passion for plants started to grow into a career. I moved to Montana to do seed collection, and spent the whole summer identifying plants and removing their seeds in various ways. But as much as I loved getting to spend all my time with plants, I knew there was something missing. I didn’t want to spend my life living in remote locations doing field work, I wanted to work with communities and people. So after doing a variety of other jobs, I found myself here, at Maine Audubon as a Community Tree Steward.
I had never seen myself as a tree person. I love trees, but I had never focused on them. The reason this position appealed to me was because I knew I wanted to make a direct impact by working with communities. For a long time, I have known that the main theme of what I want to do with my life is “use native plants to build resilience.” Since January, trees have been my everything. I have spent the last 10 months researching and learning as much as I can about Maine native trees, potting trees, caring for trees, holding stewardship events, and planning restoration projects.
From all of this, what has stood out to me the most is what I’ve learned about tree equity. After I graduated college I started thinking about city walkability, which led me to street trees. I began noticing the trees when I walked or drove through cities—where they were and, in particular, where they weren’t. When you start noticing street trees you also start noticing the inequities that plague many of our cities and towns in the United States. Neighborhoods that have been historically made up of marginalized communities have long not been prioritized for tree plantings. This is a problem that needs solving.
Street trees provide much-needed shade, reduce the urban heat island effect, and improve air and water quality. This truth of inequity is a big part of what motivates me to do the service I do. Although I may only make a small impact in the communities I am able to work with, I hope the students I work with will become future stewards and that the trees we plant will shade city streets for decades. I dream that one day every street in every neighborhood will be filled with native trees even if I personally will never get to bask in their shade. I am excited for another year of service with Maine Audubon and the addition of two more Community Tree Stewards. Together we will be able to serve more people and communities.
• Read more about Maine Audubon’s Community Tree Nurseries here >
