Urban Forester

The Urban Forester plays a key leadership role on the Town’s Urban Forestry and Horticulture team, working closely with the Town Arborist and the Superintendent of Urban Forestry, Horticulture & Park Maintenance. This position provides day-to-day, on-site guidance to staff and contractors to ensure the health, beauty, and sustainability of the Town’s trees, parks, landscapes, and green spaces.

Blending technical expertise, hands-on fieldwork, and team leadership, the Urban Forester actively participates in and oversees planting, maintenance, repair, and landscape improvement projects throughout the Town—including parks, sports fields, stream corridors, and public spaces. This work directly supports the department’s mission to build community through people, parks, and programs by fostering safe, welcoming, and thriving natural environments.

This is an outdoor-focused role that involves working in varying weather and site conditions, with regular physical activity such as walking, bending, lifting, and operating tools and equipment. Under the general supervision of the Town Arborist, the Urban Forester exercises sound judgment, demonstrates initiative, and upholds the department’s core values: exceptional service, environmental stewardship, inclusivity, health and well-being, and continuous improvement.

The functions listed below are those that represent the majority of the time spent working in this class. Management may assign additional functions related to the type of work of the class as necessary. 

Essential Functions:

Inspects Town trees to identify and/or prevent existing or potential safety hazards, including diseases, infestations, weather-related damage or other dangerous conditions.
 
Instructs, trains, organizes,   schedules and assigns work to Urban Forestry and Horticultural Town staff and Town contractors; maintains, updates and posts standards and policies; provides feedback to Town Arborist; recommends hiring, selection, promotions, demotions, disciplinary actions, or terminations.

Orders and procures all plant material including trees, shrubs, herbaceous, forbs and graminoid plants, seasonal plants, bulbs, seeds for green house production, topsoil soil, mulch, potting mix, tools, equipment for tree and landscape work.
 
Manages debris generated from staff and contract activities including wood chips reuse and disposal of wood, brush and landscape debris.
 
Creates and reviews work orders to ensure accuracy and compliance with assigned work tasks, policies and standards; prepares and processes reports, memos, etc.; responds to, and composes emails, telephone calls, and verbal inquiries.

Supports the management of contracted services to include but not limited to tree maintenance, irrigation, landscape maintenance, vegetation management, seasonal plant installation, tree installation, plant procurement.
  
Participates in maintenance of the trees, shrubs, landscape plants, streetscape planters, landscaped areas, seasonal plant displays and irrigation systems and other vegetation.

Participates in and leads a weekly safety meeting discussion with staff.
 
Attends the Town’s Tree Advocacy Committee monthly meetings when needed.

Uses a variety of computer software such as Tyler Munis, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Tree Plotter.

Maintains Pesticide application records, provide required State reporting.
 
Manage the Town’s Habitat Restoration Plan including volunteer events.

Liaisons, collaborates, and assists the Town Arborist and Superintendent of Urban Forestry, Horticulture, & Park Maintenance.
 
Collects, enters, updates data into the Town’s Tree inventory software.

Staff town tree planting events including volunteer events.

Assist the Town Arborist with staffing the Town’s Arbor Day celebration(s) and Urban forestry related events including managing the Town’s Habitat Restoration events.  
Occasionally generates, updates and posts educational information to be displayed on the Town’s website and display kiosks. Rarely makes presentations to Town staff and the general public.

 
Oversees Greenhouse and facility operations, ensuring cleanliness, organization and overall maintenance.
 
Fleet Vehicle inspecting, servicing, generally maintenance oversight and facilitate servicing

Additional Duties:
Responds to resident’s questions/concerns/inquiries.

Works occasional weekends and evenings for Parks and Recreation Department special events. Currently, there are 4 mandatory Special Events that staff must work – Independence Day fireworks and festival, Halloween Parade, two of the Chillin’ on Church events.
  
Reports to work for snow, emergency response, and other emergencies as assigned.

Responds to emergency tree related queries and maintenance requests during and after hours.
 
Operates, demonstrates, and trains staff on a variety of equipment and/or tools pertaining to trees and grounds maintenance vegetation maintenance.
 
Guides, helps, and advises less experienced workers in all areas of job duties; fills in for Town Arborist as requested.
 
Uses a variety of tools such as tree climbing and rigging equipment, chain saws, hand tools, pitchforks, rakes, power shrub pruners, string trimmers, backpack sprayer, etc.

Performs related work as assigned.