Citizen Forester: Barbara Middleton Honored for Community Service

Utah State University interpretive specialist Barbara Middleton was named 2009 Citizen Forester of the Year by the Utah Community Forest Council and the Utah Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. Middleton, a staff member in USU’s Department of Environment and Society, received the award at the Jan. 25 UCFC winter meeting.

 

“Barbara has shown strong support to the community of North Logan by serving as chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board, helping with the adoption of a City Street Tree Ordinance and was essential in helping North Logan obtain the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA designation,” the award citation read. “Barbara’s major contributions to urban forestry were her efforts in planning and planting 106 trees at North Logan City’s cemetery and Elk Ridge Park.”

 

The award came as a genuine surprise, says Middleton, who joined USU in 1998.

 

“I didn’t know about the honor until I arrived at the meeting,” she said.

 

The recognition is appreciated but the educator says the real rewards come from working with students on varied efforts, including the North Logan projects, to help people better understand natural and cultural landscapes. In addition to the tree-planting project, her endeavors include developing interpretive signs and exhibits for parks, trailheads, historical sites and urban areas.

 

Middleton works year-round to secure public and private grants to conduct her spirited enterprises, in which students play a prominent role.

 

“Interpretation is about communicating complex information and issues in ways that engage a broad range of audiences,” she says. “Each project is a great learning and problem-solving opportunity for students.”

 

With each undertaking, she says, students meet with city, state, federal or private officials, learn about their specific needs and budgets and plan a course of action.

 

“It’s learning at its best,” Middleton says. “I love to see students struggle with a challenge. Unlike other assignments, students confront a real world problem. They must bring their creative ideas to the table, consider the clients’ preferences, work within financial and time constraints of the client agency and produce a finished product. It’s demanding and difficult.”

 

With the interpretive projects, students submit drafts and continue to refine the product, she says. Finished products are then publicly presented and critiqued with client, peer, faculty and public input.

 

“It’s a valuable experience and a great way to network with professionals,” Middleton says. “I’m always amazed at the students’ ideas and the ways they develop solutions.”

 

 

Contact: Barbara Middleton, 435-797-5829, middleton.bam@gmail.com