Boston Urban Forest Coalition
Sherri Brokopp, MA 03

Try to imagine a city with no trees. What do you see? Probably a stark, barren, concrete jungle that leaves you bracing yourself against the harsh winter winds and unprotected from the blazing summer sun. Now does that sound like a place you want to live? I didn't think so.

For the last year, I have served as the Chair of Boston's Urban Forest Coalition (BUFC), a newly-formed coalition composed of non-profit, city, state, and federal organizations working to improve the urban forest ecosystem, public health, and quality of life for Boston's residents. As these different organizations started meeting, we realized that we share a common vision for Boston's urban forest -- to protect and grow the urban forest because it's part of what makes our city a great place to live. We wanted to plant trees, to help others plant trees, and to help people understand the importance of trees in our city.

In October, BUFC was honored to host Dr. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate and Founder of the Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement began 30 years ago as the women of Kenya found their environment deteriorating and their families with too little firewood, clean water, and food. Far from giving up -- how could they when the stakes were so high? -- the women were able to identify the resources available to them, trees, and launch a movement to address their environmental challenges. That was just the first step. By protecting the environment, these women also became powerful agents for social and political change in their country.

Dr. Maathai challenged us last fall to remember that planting trees, though it may seem like a simple act, is profoundly important. Our environment is intimately linked to the peace of a city, and it is important to understand that trees are our pathway to healthier, safer, and stronger communities.

I began working at the Urban Ecology Institute as an intern in the fall of 2003 in order to complete my practicum requirements for the SID program. At the time I knew little about urban ecology, but my courses and experiences at Heller prepared me to work in a multifaceted environment where the ability to understand and navigate a complicated web of political, historical, physical, social, and emotional systems is essential. My studies of sustainable development taught me that everything is connected; nowhere is this basic truth seen more clearly than in the city.

Watch the video excerpt of Dr. Mathaai's speech.