MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee is seeking to add more people to its Urban Forestry Arborist Apprenticeship Program.
The focus of the program is to offer paid on-the-job training to learn the skills for taking care of the trees in the city.
On a weekday morning, Aaron Tatum-Massey sawed the branches off a maple tree in a Milwaukee neighborhood.
He recently completed the city’s Urban Forestry Arborist Apprenticeship Program.
“There’s a lot of trees that are struggling that are having some issues that the forestry department needs to make sure that we are taking care of not just the tree’s health overall but the safety of the public and everyone around,” said Tatum-Massey.
Tatum-Massey joined the program five years ago. He said he previously worked with the Milwaukee Public Library and he wanted to make a change.
“I spent a lot of time behind the computer, so I had to come outside and had to enjoy the great outdoors,” said Tatum-Massey. “The skills I have learned here have just been invaluable in my life overall. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life right now and really just enjoying being out here and serving the city in a more public fashion.”
Nick Chambers disposed of the tree branches that fell on the street. He has been in the apprenticeship for three years.
Chambers said the program provides a good opportunity to work outdoors.
“It’s really nice to be able to come out here every day,” said Chambers. “We get to work in neighborhoods across the city and it’s cool to be able to interact with the public and take care of all their trees.”
Jeff Laufenberg is the Urban Forestry District manager for Milwaukee. He said their department has a huge responsibility.
“We are in charge of maintaining and taking care of the city street tree population which is approximately 195,000 trees throughout the City of Milwaukee, lining the streets and boulevards,” said Laufenberg. “All aspects of care from planting them, pruning them, removal and replacement of those trees. We also manage the boulevards throughout the City of Milwaukee and some other green spaces and our staff is also involved in the snow plowing and snow removal operations throughout the city.”
That’s why he believes the apprenticeship program is valuable for the city.
“What it allows us to do is to have a more trained and skilled workforce, allows us to retain more skilled employees over the long haul and allows for better stability within the job market and the industry in general,” said Laufenberg.
Now that Tatum-Massey has gone through the program, he said he wants to inspire others to join it.
He was a part of a recent recruitment effort at a Milwaukee area high school.
“A lot of the kids there are already interested in not just being an arborist but plant health care in general so being a part of the apprenticeship program can not only help further that career but can also help further grow your knowledge in a general sense and in a more broad sense when dealing with the trees that the city deals with,” said Tatum-Massey.
Tatum-Massey said he has come to understand how important healthy trees are for the betterment of the city.
Milwaukee is planning to add more apprentices to the Urban Forestry Arborist Apprenticeship Program later this winter.
You can find information on that in the job posting, here.