Who Speaks for Bend's Trees?

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Inside the Bend Tree Project.

Bend's new Urban Forester, Ian Gray, has an ambitious mission: to help protect and strengthen one of the city's most valuable natural resources—its trees. Learn how the City's urban forestry program is working to preserve existing trees, improve tree management, and build a healthier, more sustainable, functional, and resilient urban forest. Discover the many benefits trees provide, from shade and cleaner air to carbon storage, cooling, and an enhanced sense of community well-being.

The foundation of this effort is the Bend Tree Project, a citywide GIS inventory of trees growing in public rights-of-way. Before a long-term management plan can be developed, the City must first know what trees it has, where they are, what condition they're in, and what care they need. Using a dedicated corps of volunteers, the project is creating the database that will guide Bend's urban forest management for years to come while giving residents an opportunity to become active stewards of their community.

Come and meet Ian Gray, whose enthusiasm for trees is as engaging as his remarkable career. Learn how the Bend Tree Project is laying the groundwork for a healthier, more resilient city for generations to come.

About the Presenter

Ian Gray's path to becoming Bend's Urban Forester has taken him around the world–and through the trees. Having lived and worked in the United States, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom, he traces his love of trees to childhood field trips with his father in the forests of California, Oregon, and Washington. After planting trees in Canada while attending the University of Michigan, a job with a tree service in England sparked a career that has now spanned more than 30 years.

Gray has worked as a climbing arborist, owned a tree service in Colorado, and cared for the trees of Aspen's homes before moving into urban forestry. He later earned a Graduate Certificate in Urban Forestry from Oregon State University and holds numerous professional certifications through the International Society of Arboriculture. Before coming to Bend, he served with the cities of Claremont, California; Aspen, Colorado; and Renton, Washington.

Today, Gray combines hands-on experience with a passion for protecting the urban forest. He still climbs trees whenever he can and proudly wears a tattoo of the Lorax, Dr. Seuss's beloved character who "speaks for the trees,” a fitting symbol for someone dedicated to preserving them for future generations.

About OLLI

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Oregon (OLLI-UO) in Central Oregon invites community members to participate in our Friday Talks in partnership with the Deschutes Public Library. OLLI-UO is an intellectual and social community of engaged adult learners, connecting members to university faculty and professionals in respective fields. A six-month or yearlong membership allows participation in a variety of lectures, courses, peer-led study and discussion groups, educational tours, field trips, and social events.

Questions? Contact lizg@deschuteslibrary.org