( May 21 is a Georgia primary election day. Please make plans to vote early or before or after you attend this program.)

At our second quarter educational program, we'll be taking a look at "Current and Emerging Threats to the Urban Forest." The first half of this program will cover the Wildland-Urban Interface, the threat of wildfire and how to prepare for it. Mark Wiles, Wildfire Prevention Specialist with the Georgia Forestry Commission, will speak on the Firewise program and how to protect your home and community from the threat of wildfire. Seth Hawkins will explain what the wildland-urban interface is and report on the new Wildfire Risk Reduction Qualification module of the International Society of Arboriculture.

Next, Dr. Scott Merkle, Professor of Biology with the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia, will talk to us about the research he and his colleagues are conducting at the Merkle Lab, such as in-vitro propagation approaches for conservation and restoration of threatened North American trees, like the American chestnut, eastern and Carolina hemlocks, and green ash and white ash, all under attack by exotic pests and pathogens.

Lunch will be provided.

CEUs: Certified Arborist, Municipal Specialist and BCMA Science: 3 ISA CEUs
Forester CFEs: 3 hours, category 1
Landscape architects and others will receive a certificate of attendance for their CEU records.

Photo: Gatrees.org.