Bob Skiera Memorial Fund Building Bridges Initiative and John P. White Grant Program

The Bob Skiera Memorial Fund Building Bridges Initiative and John P. White Grant Program is administered by the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) in partnership with the Skiera family, the Wisconsin Arborist Association, and the International Society of Arboriculture. This program honors two influential figures in urban forestry. Bob Skiera was recognized for his pioneering work in urban forestry, building trust and cooperation between arborists and other urban planning professionals, while John White was known for fostering relationships within the tree care community in Florida. Their legacies are carried forward through this grant program, which seeks to enhance communication, collaboration, and understanding between urban forestry professionals and a range of allied disciplines. The Building Bridges Initiative aims to support research projects that help arborists and urban foresters convey the value of trees and urban forests to other professionals, such as public works officials, risk assessment experts, engineers, wildlife researchers, and soil scientists. The program’s focus for 2025 is on research that facilitates or engages interactions between urban forest managers, arborists, and other professionals committed to maximizing the use and value of urban forest resources. Suggested research topics include quantitative and qualitative analysis of urban forest benefits to humans and communities, policy formation and implementation, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem services. This list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. Funding for the program comes from two memorial funds: the Bob Skiera Memorial Fund, which contributes $25,000 annually, and the John White Memorial Fund, which adds $5,000 annually. The maximum award amount for any single grant under this initiative is $30,000. TREE Fund accepts research proposals from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines and encourages both qualitative and quantitative approaches. However, the fund does not support grants to individuals, municipal tree surveys, tree planting programs, studies on traditional forestry or timber production, agroforestry, conservation of natural forest areas, or product testing that primarily benefits the manufacturer. The 2025 grant cycle opens on August 1, 2025. Interested applicants must first submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by September 15, 2025, identifying the Principal Investigator and Institution that would be contracted to perform the work if funded. TREE Fund will review LOIs to ensure alignment with eligibility and research priorities. Only applicants whose LOIs are approved will be invited to submit a full application, due by October 1, 2025. Award announcements are expected in late December 2025. Applications must be submitted through TREE Fund’s online portal, and only complete applications submitted within the specified window will be considered. Recipients of the grant are expected to ensure that research findings are made freely and widely available to those who may benefit. TREE Fund recognizes the importance of scholarly publication and will work with recipients to balance open access with professional publication requirements. Recipients are expected to notify TREE Fund when research is published or presented, and to acknowledge TREE Fund support in related works. Dissemination in professional journals is strongly encouraged, including publications such as Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, and other relevant titles. Past awardees demonstrate the breadth of projects supported by the program. In 2023, JD Brown of the University of Virginia School of Architecture received funding for the project “Valuing Retention of Mature Trees.” In 2022, Dr. Richard J. Hauer was awarded for the project “Connecting and Creating Municipal Forestry Bridges to Build Urban Forest Resources.” In 2021, Lindsay Darling of The Morton Arboretum was funded for the project “Identifying social barriers to equitable tree planting and quantifying potential benefits to overcoming them.”

Ensure LOI clearly aligns with eligibility and research priorities; TREE Fund determinations on LOI approval are final