Project Canopy is about people. It educates people about the benefits trees provide, and how trees make people's lives better. It connects people who have a particular expertise to people who need that expertise. It helps build bridges with town and city governments, and it knows how to communicate in a local, political environment. And just as important, Project Canopy helps people talk about success stories, so that they can find the motivation --- and inspiration --- that is crucial for developing creative, long-term community forestry programs. Listen to a quick overview of the Project Canopy program.

District Forester Dennis Brennan (center, in uniform) facilitates a town's Project Canopy meeting. As a technical advisor, Brennan comes up with suggestions, and helps towns avoid costly mistakes.

The Maine Forest Service has an incredible reservoir of knowledge and expertise. The challenge for us is to get that knowledge to the people who can use it. Any long-term community forestry program needs commitment and understanding from many different corners. Project Canopy's role is to get people in different corners talking to each other, so that awareness about trees can grow by leaps and bounds. We do that by using down-to-earth strategies, and deploying technical experts into the field to lend hands-on assistance. For example:

• Helping recruit and organize volunteers;
• Providing model community tree ordinances;
• Assisting in fund-raising efforts;
• Training tree stewards;
• Providing street tree inventory software;
• Helping communities appoint/elect a community tree warden;
• Linking communities to other Maine communities with successful tree programs;
• Providing lists of local foresters and arborists;
• Building bridges to national community tree organizations;
• Assisting in development of a long-term community tree plan;
  

And much more.

Project Canopy is a cooperative effort of the Maine Forest Service and the Pine Tree State Arboretum.

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