UCFS Accreditation Application

UCFS Accreditation Application
The UCFS Accreditation standards drive urban and community forestry programs to achieve higher levels of excellence. This Accreditation program incorporates industry standards that are critical to growing, expanding, managing, and providing long-term care for sustainable and resilient urban and community trees and forests.

UCFS’s Accreditation standards have been developed to offer two levels of recognition – Steward and Champion – for urban forestry program advancement based on the following standards for best practices:
1. Urban Forestry Leadership
2. Urban Forest Governance and Planning
3. Urban Forest Management
4. Community Engagement
UCFS Accreditation is a voluntary process of organizational development that results in the international recognition of an accredited program after evaluating compliance with broadly accepted industry standards.

The first step in the process to achieve UCFS Accreditation is to complete this application. The application contains a series of questions to determine if the community meets minimum requirements as well as a series of questions to understand the urban forestry program that is applying. This application will be reviewed by UCFS staff within 30 days of submission. If all necessary information is provided, and the community appears to be a good candidate for UCFS Accreditation, the applicant will move on to the next step, which is a full self-assessment.

If you have questions while completing the application, please reach out to the UCFS Accreditation Manager, David Sivyer at accreditation@ucfsociety.org.

Your details
Name

First NameLast Name
Email
example@example.com
Phone Number
Please enter a valid phone number.Format: (000) 000-0000.
Community or Organization Applying
Organization Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Organization City

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Organization State/Province

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Organization Zip/Postal Code

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Organization Country

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip CodeCountry

Application Questions

You should be able to answer "yes" to each question in order to proceed.

Does your community have or meet the following criteria?

Rows	Yes or No
An existing urban forest program that outlines the responsibility for oversight of urban and community forestry activities.
An existing urban forest program that directs the use of best management practices for the establishment, preservation, and maintenance of public trees and forests.
A full or partial public tree inventory or a system of knowledge of the trees in the tree management area.
Organizational tree care and safety standards that align with ANSI Z133, Z60.1 and A300 standards and are included in team operations and awarded contracts. If outside the United States or Canada, program meets industry standards appropriate for the region.

Program Details
Community Overview

Tell us about the jurisdiction where you perform urban forestry work.

Rows	Community details
Land type (city, county, city-county, tribal land, campus)
Human population within jurisdiction
Area of jurisdiction (square miles/kilometers)

Urban Forest Overview

Tell us about the urban forestry program you manage.

Rows	Community details
What department(s) oversee urban forestry work
Trees under purview - Public, Private, or Both
Tree canopy cover percent
Estimated number of trees within jurisdiction - Percent Public
Estimated number of trees within jurisdiction - Percent Private
Number of trees under jurisdiction control
Percentage of public trees within the jurisdiction that have been inventoried
Process of collecting urban forest data (GIS, canopy analysis, equity analysis, volunteer/citizen-science driven, etc.)
How is tree data stored?
Are you a Tree City USA, Tree Campus, or Tree City of the World (or some other equivalent designation)?
Have you achieved the Sustainable Forestry Initiatives Urban and Community Forestry Standard as a whole or any individual themes?
Do you practice and implement highest-use options for removed trees that leads to urban wood utilization?

Urban Forest Engagement

In the next sections, tell us about who does the work.

How many urban forestry staff do you employ?

Rows	Community details
Number of full-time employees dedicated to urban forestry
Number of part-time staff dedicated to urban forestry

Do you utilize contractors for urban forestry work?

If yes, what percentage of work do contractors do?

Rows	Percent
Tree pruning
Tree planting
Tree removal
Stump removal
Storm removal/clean-up

Tell us in more detail about what activities contractors perform. Additionally, if there is something not listed above, please tell us here.

Do you have a relationship with a non-profit urban forestry (or similar) partner? If so, do they support:

Rows	Click all that apply
Tree pruning
Tree planting
Public education
Tree inventory or assessment
Other

Tell us in more detail about what activities are performed by the non-profit.

Do you involve volunteers in your urban forestry program?

Rows	Number
Average number of volunteers engaged in urban forestry (yearly)
Average number of volunteer hours (yearly)

What activities do the volunteers perform?

UCFS Accreditation Verifications
Please review and verify the following statements before submitting your application.
I will work with UCFS to complete the Self-Assessment within the preferred six (6) month timeframe.
Upon acceptance of my application, I certify that I have approved funding to (select one):

Application Submission
Thank you for submitting your UCFS Accreditation Application. From here, the UCFS Accreditation Manager will review all documentation to ensure we have everything. As laid out in the UCFS Accreditation Manual, this process can take up to 30 days.

Once it is determined that all necessary documentation is in hand, we will work with you on the self-assessment, including sending the full form for your review and completion as well as assigning you an Accreditation Council Liaison.
Should be Empty:

UCFS Accreditation Application

Your details

Application Questions

Program Details

Community Overview

Urban Forest Overview

Urban Forest Engagement

UCFS Accreditation Verifications

Application Submission