RICHMOND, Va.  – The City of Richmond Department of Public Works welcomes Michael Webb as the City’s first Urban Forester. Michael will work with the community and stakeholders to develop the City’s Urban Forestry Master Plan. In addition to helping to create policies, practices and procedures, the master plan will:

• Increase community engagement and public awareness
• Provide better transparency
• Provide maintenance that focuses on preventive measures geared toward extending the lives of trees
• Provide an equity-based approach to tree maintenance, planting, and removal
• Increase the number of trees planted in underserved communities
• Increase the overall canopy in the city

Michael is a Virginia native with a degree in Urban Forestry from Virginia Tech. He is an ISA Board-Certified Master Arborist and is Tree Risk Assessment Qualified. He’s eager to share his passion and expertise for trees with the Richmond community and the City is excited to have him join our team!

For more information on the Department of Public Works, please go to www.rva.gov/public-works or email us at AskPublicWorks@rva.gov

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The City of Richmond Department of Public Works (DPW) is one of only 195 currently accredited public works agencies in the United States. DPW’s portfolio comprises a wide array of services to include leaf collection; street, sidewalk and alley maintenance; trash collection; recycling; grass cutting;  graffiti removal; parking enforcement; urban forestry; street signs; traffic signals and pavement markings and civil engineering. In addition, DPW maintains upkeep on most city buildings; issues permits for working in the city’s right-of-way; manages the RVA Bike Share program and maintains the fleet of city vehicles. DPW’s operating budget comes from the general fund of the City of Richmond.  For more information about DPW services, click here or call 3-1-1.