Training the future leaders in urban forestry (Ufor)

超过80%的加拿大人生活在城市地区，而城市森林（UF）往往是人们唯一经常体验的自然。这些城市树木和森林为城市居民提供了许多直接和间接的好处，这些好处才刚刚开始实现。一种来自亚洲的非本地昆虫——绿灰螟（Agrilus planipennis）的到来使北美东部的城市树木数量大幅减少（在许多大城市，如蒙特里萨和渥太华，树木数量减少了20%以上）。这提高了政界人士和居民对佛罗里达大学价值的认识。因为规划和管理UF需要一个广泛的视角，涵盖许多领域，没有一个单一的研究领域或培训计划可以充分准备研究生面对他们将在工作场所面临的挑战。从教育和培训的角度来看，这是一个挑战。传统上，加拿大UF的管理是由林业人员、景观设计师、树木学家和园艺师完成的，他们在城市生态学、生物学、修复、土壤科学、水文学或社会和经济科学方面几乎没有受过培训。能够在复杂的社会文化和经济条件形成的新型城市生态系统中管理UF的高素质专业领导者在加拿大和全球都很少见。Ufor（或城市林业空间培训计划或法语ForU，意为“formation en Foresterie Urbaine”）旨在增加这类高素质专业人员的供应。在规划和管理提供城市大部分生态系统服务的城市树木和森林以及包括自然、社会和健康科学方面的广泛专业知识方面的发展，将为我们的学员提供大量的职业生涯资产，并为加拿大人带来相应的长期利益。

More than 80% of Canadians live in urban areas, and urban forests (UF) are often the only nature that people will experience on a regular basis. These urban trees and forests provide many direct and indirect benefits to city dwellers that are just starting to be realised. The arrival of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), a non-native insect from Asia, into eastern North America has decimated urban tree populations (with more than 20% loss for many large cities like Montréal and Ottawa). This has increased the awareness of the value of UF among politicians and residents. Because planning and managing UF require a broad perspective that encompasses many fields, no single research domain or training program can adequately prepare graduate students for the challenges they will face in the workplace. This poses a challenge from an educational and training perspective. Traditionally, management of UF in Canada is done by foresters, landscape architects,arborists and horticulturists who have little training in urban ecology, biology, restoration, soil science, hydrology or social and economic sciences. Well-qualified professional leaders who can manage UF in novel urban ecosystems that are shaped by complex socio-cultural and economic conditions are rare in Canada and across the globe. Ufor (or Urban Forestry space training program or ForU in french for "formation en Foresterie Urbaine") aims to increase the supply of this type of highly-qualitified professional. The development of a broad-perspective expertise in the planning and management of urban trees and forests that provide the bulk of ecosystem services in cities, as well as includes aspects of natural, social and health sciences, will provide a substantial career-long asset for our trainees, with corresponding long-term benefits to Canadians.