City of Ash Grove awarded TRIM grant, for educational opportunities

Money will fund trip to tree conference
 
Ash Grove Assistant City Clerk and Tree Board member Jennifer Martin, along with Park Board volunteer
Marcia Harper will attend the Missouri Community Forestry Council Conference (MFCC) thanks to a Tree
Resource Improvement and Maintenance (T.R.I.M.) Grant from the Missouri Department of
Conservation. The grant provides a total of $1,068.78 in cost share expenses for Martin and Harper to
attend the conference, and will cover their registration, hotel stay and some meals not covered by the
conference.
The MFCC will take place at the Chateau on the Lake Resort Spa & Convention Center in Branson from
Aug. 25-27. Harper said she is looking forward to learning more about how to manage the city’s trees
and sharing that information when she returns.
“The schedule for the conference is loaded with all kinds of educational opportunities,” she said. “The
first day has two talks that I hope will be enlightening: the connection between the community and our
trees (and) forests and planning community environments.”
Harper said the second day of the conference would be equally informative.
“The second day has a talk about urban and community forests as tourist destinations, which I hope may
inspire ideas for Cub's Lake Park,” she said. “Then there are the mini-sessions, I am in particular looking
forward to Bats, Bees, Butterflies and Pesticides and also the Missouri Task Force update about invasive
plants and ceasing the sale of those plants.”
As the city moves to meet goals from its 2020 T.R.I.M. grant, Harper said she hopes to be able to use
what she learns at the conference to help.
“Our 2020 T.R.I.M. Grant included a long-term plan and I am looking forward to helping Ash Grove
achieve those goals,” she said. “Hopefully, throughout the different stages to meet those goals I'll have
the opportunity to share some of what I've learned during the conference.”