Although trees often perform quite well without intervention, pruning is performed by arborists to address safety issues and to improve structure, health, and appearance. Join the Mt. Cuba Arboriculture Team for a discussion of pruning equipment and a demonstration of professional pruning techniques. Students are encouraged to share their own questions about pruning in advance. A portion of the class will be held outside; please dress for the weather. This program takes place in person at Mt. Cuba Center on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 (Rain Date: Wednesday, May 29). About the Instructors: Nicole DeLizzio is the Arborist Assistant at the Mt. Cuba Center. She holds a BS in Agriculture and Natural Resources with a minor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Delaware. Nicole is an ISA certified arborist. In addition to co-teaching the Ecological Arboriculture course with the rest of the arboriculture team, she can be found sharing her combined passion for trees and art in pyrography, or the art of woodburning. One of Nicole’s favorite ecological gardening concepts is to allow trees to decay in place, when it is safe to do so, to be utilized by wildlife. Scott Kelley is the Head Arborist at Mt Cuba Center. He is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. Scott has been working with trees since 1980, and he joined Mt Cuba Center in 1986. William Trescott is the Arboriculture Manager at Mt. Cuba Center. He joined the staff fulltime in 1988 and began his arboricultural career as a tree climber in 1989. William is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. In addition to daily tree care duties, he is currently involved in Mt. Cuba Center’s tree canopy replacement project and development of best practices for ecological arboriculture.