TreeCATs applications open for Spring 2026 cohort
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2026) — Applications are now open for TreeCATs (Tree Collegiate and Citizen Arboriculture Training), a five-week, virtual training program hosted each spring by the University of Kentucky Urban Forest Initiative (UFI) at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
The program, open to UK students and Kentucky residents, introduces participants to urban and community forestry, pairing practical tree knowledge with the ways trees intersect with health, neighborhoods and local decision-making. Participants who complete the online program receive a $300 stipend. Applications are open through March 1, and space is limited.
“TreeCATs is built for people who want a solid introduction to urban and community forestry — students, community members, anyone who wants to learn how trees shape neighborhoods and daily life,” said UFI coordinator Matthew John, Ph.D.
The program became online-based during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now designed as an interactive workshop rather than a webinar. Sessions this year will feature academic experts and industry professionals and will cover topics ranging from tree identification to the social and health impacts of trees and climate resilience, with participants completing assignments and culminating in a final project of their choice.
UFI leaders want to see applications from across the state, particularly from people interested in how the urban tree canopy connects to daily life — shade and heat, stormwater, street design, neighborhood well-being and how communities plan for climate resiliency.
“TreeCATs began in 2019 as a small, in-person spring cohort,” said John. “When the pandemic pushed programming online, participation grew.”
TreeCATs is one of several ways the UFI works with partners on campus and in communities. The initiative is a collaborative group of UK and community stakeholders focused on promoting and protecting urban tree canopies on UK’s campus, in Lexington and across the region, while raising awareness of the ecological, social and economic benefits provided by urban trees.
John said the goal is to help participants leave TreeCATs with practical knowledge and a clearer sense of what urban and community forestry can look like in real settings.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.