University of Tennessee forestry students climb 50 feet up for class

Students who study forestry can read plenty about trees, but at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, they are also being taught to climb them. In the school’s new urban forestry program, students learn from laptops and lecture notes, but also from high in the canopy, sometimes about 50 feet above the ground.

The course grew out of a simple concern: too many forestry programs give students limited chances to learn through hands-on experience. After seeing that gap, the instructor attended a workshop to gain tree-climbing skills and brought those lessons back to campus. The result is a course that gives students a more practical view of what tree care really involves.

Learning the Work Up Close

The course, Principles of Urban Forestry, is designed to teach students about the history, benefits, and costs of growing and maintaining trees in cities. During the first 10 weeks, students study how people, trees, and cities changed as communities across the country urbanized. They also begin learning basic tree-climbing skills on 6-foot ropes, including safety techniques and knot-tying.

For the last five weeks, students climb trees on the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture campus in Knoxville. Most go up to about 50 feet. Some climb sawtooth oaks, which can grow to 69 feet tall. Those trees were chosen because they have strong branching structures and enough room for students to practice safely.

Students start with the basics, learning how to move up and down the tree using a technique called body or hip thrusting. Then they practice moving through the canopy and learn to limb walk, a more advanced method of traversing thinner branches. The goal is not just athletic skill, but a deeper understanding of tree structure, movement, and care from inside the tree itself.

Why City Trees Matter

The course also helps students understand why urban trees matter so much. Over the past 30 years, the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations have encouraged people to think more carefully about trees and greenery in streets, parks, and other public spaces. That work includes planting the right trees in the right places, pruning branches regularly, and watching for signs of disease or risk.

That attention matters to nearly everyone. About 80% of the U.S. population lived in urban areas in 2020, which means the care of city trees directly affects most Americans. Trees can cool neighborhoods with shade, improve air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide and pollutants, and release oxygen through their leaves.

Even students who do not go into tree care leave the course with a better understanding of the role trees play in daily life. They begin to see how city residents, planners, scientists, politicians, and tree-care professionals all need to work together to decide where trees should be planted and how every neighborhood can benefit from healthy ones.

Most of all, the course encourages students to look up, pay attention, and notice the places where they study, work, and live. By seeing trees more closely, they start to understand how much they contribute to shade, safety, comfort, beauty, and the quality of everyday life.

This article was written by Sharon Jean-Philippe from University of Tennessee and was originally published on The Conversation.