The Michigan State University Forest Carbon and Climate Program has launched a new intensive course, Urban Forests and Climate Change. This online professional training will be offered multiple times throughout the year. Course content was co-developed with MSU faculty and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, a collaborative, multi-institutional partnership led by the USDA Forest Service. 

The Urban Forests and Climate Change course curriculum explores how urban forestry can improve climate change resilience while providing myriad benefits to ecological and social communities. Learners will gain a comprehensive understanding of the roles urban forest management and sustainable wood construction play in climate change mitigation, highlighting key obstacles and opportunities specific to urban and municipal-level forestry. The course identifies unique themes and addresses how climate change can impact urban forests and how management can reduce social inequities, improve human health and well-being and reduce environmental and community vulnerability to climate-induced stressors.

The Michigan State University Forest Carbon and Climate Program offers online short courses tailored for natural resource professionals, extension agents, and landowners. For more information about each course, including registration details, visit MSU’s Professional Development webpage. In addition, the Department of Forestry has non-credit versions of additional undergraduate and graduate courses available for purchase. A complete catalog of these courses can be found on MSU’s Continuing Education webpage.