Lillich Lectures Series: Developing an Urban Forest

Helen Lillich, founder of West Lafayette Tree Friends and known throughout greater Lafayette as the "Tree Lady", was a passionate advocate for the importance of trees for a sustainable community. Lillich was an environmentalist, educator, and cheerleader for all things green in the City. Her passion and activism spurred the passage of the Trees and Landscape ordinance that is still in place today. Lillich passed in 2010, but her efforts can still be felt today.

The West Lafayette Tree Friends honor her legacy by developing the Lillich Lectures Series, highlighting various topics that impact our urban forest. These two-hour sessions help educate the community on the urban forest, the challenges they face, and foster conversations on how to better protect our vital resources. This event is one of two lectures in 2023. ISA CEU's are available for attendees!

Agenda

Designing parkland from cornfields to developing tree maintenance policies that foster sustainable growth, we have lined up great speakers for you! Join us as we walk through the process from vision, implementation, and maintenance. The agenda follows:

9:30 am - 10:00 am - Registrations and Refreshments

10:00 am- Welcome Message

10:15 am - 11:00 pm - Kelly Murphy - Cason Family Park Design and Future Urban Tree Canopy

Kelly Murphy is a Senior Associate at MKSK, a collective of Planners, Urban Designers and Landscape Architects who are passionate about the interaction between people and place. She brings a collaborative mindset to the table, with expertise across a variety of complex projects including parks, urban and mixed-use developments, roof terraces and riversides. A strong client, community and context-driven approach persists in her work. Murphy holds Landscape Architecture degrees from The Ohio State University Knowlton School and Harvard University Graduate School of Design. As an adjunct professor of Design Media in the MLA + Urbanism program at IIT, volunteer on the Friends of the Friends of the Chicago River Planning Committee and member of the Landscape Architecture Advisory Board at the Knowlton School, the conduit between academia, community, and practice remains a strong influence in her approach to design.

11:00 - 11:15 am - Break/Refreshments

11:15 am - 12:00 pm - Aren Flint - West Lafayette's Community Forestry Management Plan

Aren Flint is a senior associate consultant with Davey Resource Group. Ms. Flint’s experience as an urban forester includes conducting inventories, writing management plans, utilizing i-Tree’s suite of software, interpreting urban tree canopy assessments, performing risk tree evaluations, and consulting with local Indiana communities. Ms. Flint has a degree in Natural Resources from Purdue University and is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist, Municipal Specialist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, USFS Strike Team Member, Society of Municipal Arborists Municipal Forestry Institute Graduate, and American Society of Consulting Arborist Academy Graduate.

Thank You to Our Sponsor

Special thank you to this year's sponsor, Davey Resource Group!