Day in the life of an Arborist

Bryant Thomas at Luke Easter Park

We caught up with City arborist Bryant Thomas at Luke Easter Park to ask him some questions about the Division of Forestry and serving as an Arborist. Check our what he had to say!

How long have you been with the city?

I've been with the City of Cleveland for 19 years. I've been in urban forestry 17 years.

What does a city arborist do day-to-day?

From day to day, we're responsible for the safety and the upkeep of all of our right-of-way trees. Now we're starting to blend more into parks. What we're doing as far as parks is, we're here to make sure that [trees] over a lot of the playgrounds are okay and the children are safe. We have to come in and deadwood the trees, [which means] cutting them back to a safe space to where it won't be a hazard for the pedestrians.

How long does it take for Urban Forestry to respond to a 311 call, and how does that process work?

The time frame is usually answered within 24 to 72 hours.

When residents give 311 a call - 311 will then direct the call to urban forestry. We will then send one of our field operations foresters out. They'll inspect the trees. If there's a problem, he'll assign it to one of the operational field supervisors, who will come out to either trim it, raise it, or dead wood it, and make sure it's safe for the community.

Why are urban forests important to Cleveland, and what are ways that you are working to restore the decline?

Through our office, we're just trying to keep the trees healthier. We're just trying to make every neighborhood better, one tree at a time. But as long as the community is helping us, they're giving us what they see. Then we'll be able to attend all matters through them. We get a lot more done through them and their voices, because each neighborhood is different, and by the neighborhoods being different, we can't see everything.