Applications invited for Safe Arborist Techniques Fund Grant Program

About the Organization 

TREE Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to support scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge and best practices in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry.

Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) is shaping the future of trees, the arboriculture profession, and our world. Established in 2002 via a merger of the International Society of Arboriculture Research Trust and the National Arborist Foundation of the National Arborist Association (now Tree Care Industry Association), TREE Fund has awarded more than $6.0 million in grants toward its mission of identifying and funding programs that support the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge and best practices in arboriculture and urban forestry.

Science-based tree care enhances the beauty, safety, and livability of our communities, and helps to protect the people who care for our urban forest. TREE Fund awards research grants, education grants, and scholarships to advance the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry. With increased knowledge, arborists and citizens are better equipped to properly care for trees, ensuring that healthy, mature trees will remain an integral part of our communities of the future. 

About the Grant 

The Safe Arborist Techniques Fund (SATF) is a joint program of Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) and International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), established in 2015 to support research and development into the techniques and equipment that arborists use in climbing, rigging, and working on trees, and the means of identifying potential hazards, to provide a safer working environment. Grant-funded projects are expected to be completed within two years of initial fund disbursement. The maximum award value of SATF grants is $15,000.

2026 SATF grants must support useful inquiry into the areas of worker safety and/or biomechanics, to include investigation into tree failure mechanisms and causes, and offsetting practices and techniques to protect workers, residents and property. Sample topics (not all-inclusive) could include:

• Decay assessment/spread;
• Inoculating trees with root decay;
• Response growth;
• Mechanical pruning;
• Lightning protection;
• Support systems, cabling, etc.;
• Machine-aided climbing;
• Biomechanics;
• Etc.

TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature. TREE Fund does not fund the following types of projects, and will not accept applications for such work:

• Grants to individuals;
• Projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments;
• Tree planting programs;
• Studies focused on traditional forestry and timber production, agroforestry, and ecology and conservation of forested and other natural areas,
• Product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.

How to Apply

Last Day to Request Letter of Intent: September 15, 2026

For more information please check the Link

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Tags Environment and Sustainability Innovations and Technology Skill Development Research Others