The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment has a new undergraduate certificate program. The Urban and Community Forestry Certificate allows students to critically examine the role of trees and greenspaces in the sustainability and health of the built environment. 

“I think when a lot of people think of urban forestry, they think of arborists and urban foresters,” said Ellen Crocker, UK assistant professor of forest health extension. “While that’s definitely part of it, there’s much more to how trees and people interact in these places.” 

One goal of this certificate is to draw students from diverse majors and enhance their major coursework, providing a suite of urban and community forestry skills that they will carry forward as they move into their professional careers.  

“There are a lot of different professions that could use this certificate,” Croker said. “This can benefit landscape architects, city planners, those in education and even human health. We tried to make this certificate as inclusive as possible for students who are coming from a number of majors.” 

The certificate will contain nine hours of elective credits in addition to introductory and capstone courses, both offered this spring. Those interested in participating can visit https://ucf.ca.uky.edu/ or email ucf@uky.edu.