Day 1 - Monday, October 9, 2023

MORNING – 8:00 am Start

• Welcomes — Mayor Justin Bibb and Cleveland Foundation CEO Lillian Kuri.

• Vision & Goal Setting — sharing our individual, organizational, and collective goals for this remarkable moment in the history of Urban Forestry in the US.

• Inventory our Assets and Offerings — identify what each of us and our organizations are bringing to support the advancement of this field through this next stage of its work.

AFTERNOON

• Overviews of Organizational Initiatives —Lightning round presentations from organizations intending to implement urban forestry field development and support as part of the Forest Service or other urban forestry investment sources.

• Perspectives and Feedback from the Field — Responses from representatives of community-based urban forestry initiatives and identification of critical considerations to optimize the effectiveness of capacity-building support.

• Identifying Obstacles, Challenges & Needs — Exploring and documenting areas of potential difficulty and identifying what we need individually and collectively to prepare for and move through these challenges.

EVENING

On-site tour and urban farm-to-table dinner at the Rid-All Green Partnership Urban Ag and Forestry Campus in southeast Cleveland. See an integrated circular biomass economy including composting, wood pellet and biochar production, bioenergy systems for urban food production, and the recently launched urban forestry nursery. Dinner hosted by American Forests at the Rid-All Community Kitchen with special local guests.

Day 2 - Tuesday, October 10, 2023

MORNING – 8:00 am Start

Identification of Collaboration/Coordination Accelerators — Collectively consider and document what types of actions, infrastructure, or other resources could enhance collaboration and coordination across the various organizational initiatives now being launched.

Small Group Innovation — Self-organize around topics/actions that were identified as critical areas of need to improve coordination and effective field development.

Synthesis and Next Steps — Identify the critical next steps in implementing coordination. Identify action leads and capture commitments and timelines. Set checkpoints for progress assessment and celebration!

Lunch and Go! — 2:00 pm Closing Time

We will be done by 2:00 pm so everyone can head home, or over to the National Urban Heat/Urban Forestry Accelerator Retreat.