Who We Are
We’re your friendly City Forester, an office within Denver Parks & Recreation, and we’ve been taking care of our city’s urban canopy for many years. We’re here to help so that together we can protect one of Denver’s most valuable assets—our trees!
Our work is part of Game Plan for a Healthy City, Denver Parks & Recreation’s vision for creating parks, gathering places, activities and more that are easily accessible, well-maintained and equitable in every neighborhood.
What we do
- We protect trees against tree pests. We’ve been formulating our city’s defense against the emerald ash borer (EAB) since 2013. The Be A Smart Ash campaign, launched in May 2016, aims to actively educate and enlist the help of Denver residents in identifying, treating and replacing ash trees now and over the course of the next 15 years. As a city entity, we take care of ash trees located on city property, but residents have to join us by taking responsibility for any ash trees on their personal property and in adjacent public rights-of-way. As more pests emerge, like the spotted lanternfly, our goal is to empower residents with as much information as possible to help them protect their trees from pests like these.
- We plant new trees to help grow our city’s urban canopy. Although the Be A Smart Ash program goal is to defend against the emerald ash borer, there are other ways you can Be A Smart Ash and support our urban canopy. We’re committed to making it as easy as possible for Denver residents to plant new trees in their public right-of-way or replace ash trees that are at risk of EAB.
- We take care of our existing trees. Healthy trees are more likely to fight off pests like the emerald ash borer, as well as other environmental threats and pests. Healthy trees also mean healthier cities—providing residents with all the benefits trees offer. Our goal is to equip tree owners with the information they need to care for their trees through proper watering, mulching, pruning and more.
Our urban canopy keeps us cool, drowns out noisy neighbors and spruces up our air. And we’re committed to protecting it—with your help!
