People

Gary Johnson

Professor/Extension Professor: Problem Solving and Planning in Natural Resources, Arboriculture, and Managing Greenspaces for People.

Specialization: Urban and Community Forestry

Email: johns054@umn.edu

Gary’s Research and Interests: Tree Failure Due to Loading Events | Stem Girdling Root Syndrome: Causes, Effects, Prevention, Treatment | Effects of Construction Activities on Tree and Urban Forest Health: Early Detection, Prevention and Treatment | Production of Nursery Grown Trees and Shrubs: Gravel Bed Systems, Pot-in-Pot Production, Producing Quality Root Systems | Effects of Deep Planting on the Health and Condition of Trees.

Chad Giblin

Research Fellow/ Researcher 5

Instructor: Dendrology (FNRM 1101)

Specialization: Urban & Community Forestry

Email: gibli002@umn.edu

Chad’s Research and Interests: New species and alternative nursery production and planting practices to enhance establishment and long-term success of young trees. UMN Elm Selection Program to select, clone, and screen Minnesota-native American, red, and rock elms as well as elms from worldwide sources for Dutch elm disease resistance and suitability for the landscape. Youth Engagement in Arboriculture (YEA) Programs and tree climbing camps, and Conservation Arboriculture and Retrenchment Pruning research.

Ryan Murphy

Research Fellow/ Researcher 5

Specialization: Urban & Community Forestry

Email: murph523@umn.edu

Ryan’s Research and Interests: I help to manage the MN Tree Inspector Program, a collaboration with the MN Department of Natural Resources. I also assist with research focusing on improving clonal propagation in elm as part of the U of M Elm Selection Program. A third aspect of my research is focusing on the utilization of urban grown ginkgo seeds for food and medicine. Our hope for the ginkgo project is to create a mechanism for harvesting and selling urban grown ginkgo seeds to alleviate concerns over the malodorous seeds, which often result in requests for these quality urban trees to be removed.

Michael Bahe

Researcher

Specialization: Urban & Community Forestry, GIS, and Remote Sensing

Email: bahe0010@umn.edu

Michael's Research and Interests: My interests are focused on utilizing GIS and remote sensing techniques to improve sustainability of urban green infrastructure, and transferring new technology to government agencies and landscape managers. Current research uses small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), or drones, to assess urban tree health and vigor using multispectral sensors for application of vegetation indexes such as NDVI. I also assist with public outreach and research in partnership with regional municipalities to improve urban forest management practices.

Ashley Reichard

Volunteer Programs Coordinator & Grad Student

Specialization: Urban & Community Forestry

Email: reich343@umn.edu

Ashley's research and interests: I support individual volunteers as they pursue education regarding trees and their care, as well as working closely with municipalities to set up community-based volunteer programs to educate the public and create a volunteer base to assist with tree care tasks. My research involves understanding indicators that determine environmental stewardship volunteer retention length through a series of surveys distributed to existing and new volunteers. Little research has been conducted on the understanding of retention length in environmental stewardship programs (e.g. Tree Care Advisor, Master Gardener, Master Naturalist).