{"id":188138,"date":"2022-07-21T07:00:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=188138"},"modified":"2022-07-21T13:27:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T17:27:27","slug":"tree-hugger-alyssa-cleland-learns-the-arborists-ropes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2022\/07\/tree-hugger-alyssa-cleland-learns-the-arborists-ropes\/","title":{"rendered":"Tree Hugger: Alyssa Cleland Learns the Arborists\u2019 Ropes"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This summer Alyssa Cleland is hanging out, but it\u2019s not what you think. On any day, you might find Cleland scaling a tree, dozens of feet in the air. That\u2019s because Cleland is spending the break from her coursework at UConn getting first-hand experience as a summer arborist with the Davey Tree Expert Company\u2019s Hamden branch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleland is a student in the <a href=\"https:\/\/rhsa.uconn.edu\/\">Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture (RHSA)<\/a> in the Urban Forestry and Arboriculture Program. This internship is allowing her to put the knowledge she gains in the classroom into practice in a real-world setting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, Cleland has helped cut down dead trees, trim branches, and even set up a mind-body garden at the Yale New Haven Hospital. She\u2019s also learned the ins and outs of climbing, cutting, planting, and trimming trees around the state.<\/p>\r\n<p>&#8220;Alyssa has been a strategic asset in outfitting our tree crews which helps enable us to keep up with client demand,&#8221; says Cameron Pierce, district manager and Cleland&#8217;s supervisor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\r\n<p>It\u2019s going to be a little tough being a woman in the field. But it&#8217;s what I like to do, and trees are way less complicated than people.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleland says working with the Davey\u2019s crew has taught her a lot about the day-to-day tasks an arborist is responsible for in a supportive environment, especially being the only woman in a male-dominated field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s nice to work in a company that respects its workers and with people who respect each other,\u201d Cleland says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a little tough being a woman in the field. But it&#8217;s what I like to do, and trees are way less complicated than people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleland\u2019s class on tree identification has been a major help on the job. Having knowledge about various types of trees tells an arborist what disease or pest may be infecting it, which is critical when selecting the kind of pesticide or herbicide to use to target the problem without harming the tree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe more you understand the species, the more you can say \u2018I know what kind of pests it gets so I know better how to fix it,\u201d Cleland says.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleland says the emphasis that the <a href=\"https:\/\/cahnr.uconn.edu\/\">College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources<\/a>, the academic home of RHSA, puts on hands-on learning and a close community prepared her well to enter this internship with the knowledge and confidence to succeed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cProfessors push us to succeed, not to see us fail,\u201d Cleland says. \u201cThey work with us to make it what we need. The professors know their stuff.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" class=\"wp-image-188156 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DSC_7367-edited-996x665.jpg 996w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/684;\" \/>\r\n<figcaption>(Jason Sheldon\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Kehoe, the adjunct professor of Cleland\u2019s fundamentals of arboriculture class, encouraged her to apply for a Connecticut Tree Protective Association scholarship, which Cleland won.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHaving affirmation and validation from this group is a big deal for this course,\u201d Cleland says. \u201c[It] shows that out of all the people who applied, they thought I was best suited and has a future in this field. That was very exciting to realize. I wasn\u2019t expecting it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This encouraged Cleland to apply for the internship with the Davey Tree Expert Company.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleland says this experience paired with her coursework in Ratcliffe Hicks is preparing her well to work as a licensed arborist after graduation, a profession that\u2019s growing fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The demand for people who have a developed understanding of trees and how and where to cut or keep them is essential. While one of the most visible parts of the arborists\u2019 job may be cutting down trees, a large part is also determining which trees to keep. This type of conservation can help cool an area with added shade or provide other ecological benefits, especially in the face of climate change.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUrban forestry and arboriculture is one of the biggest growing fields in natural resources \u2013 there\u2019s always jobs and it\u2019s not just about rural communities,\u201d Cleland says. \u201cEveryone wants someone who knows trees, has a license, and is a plant specialist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/uconncahnr_social\">UConn CAHNR<\/a> on social media<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of few females in the field, Alyssa Cleland soars to new heights in her training to be a licensed arborist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":188139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2224,2300,2194,156,2235,2306],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2140],"class_list":["post-188138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cahnr","category-natural-resources-environment","category-new-haven-county","category-profile","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-voices"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 12:35:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188138"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188252,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188138\/revisions\/188252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/188139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188138"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=188138"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=188138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}