UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship Master of Urban Forestry Leadership (MUFL) students recently took their learning global, traveling to Australia and New Zealand to see how cities like Melbourne and Christchurch are reimagining urban spaces through sustainability, design, and community leadership.
Students explored how local governments, researchers, and city planners are tackling real-world challenges like climate resilience, water management, and biodiversity in dense urban areas.
This immersive learning experience is a defining feature of the MUFL program, which welcomes both recent graduates and professionals ready to apply their knowledge to tackle complex urban forestry challenges. With UBC’s campus as a living lab, students combine arboricultural science, urban design, and leadership training to prepare for dynamic careers in sustainability and city planning.
Each year, the program’s field trips offer students the chance to connect classroom learning with global practice. We spoke to students Hincent Ng, Bill Ralston, Gerard Fournier, Bryan Moffatt and Francesca Yep about their experience in Australasia and how it fostered networking and collaboration efforts with global urban forestry leaders.
Why was it valuable to experience other global urban forest environments?
BR: The opportunity to exchange information first-hand and receive exposure to innovative practices in urban forestry provides immense value to students. Understanding the challenges we face on a more a global scale broadens the depth of our knowledge acquisition in the urban forestry discipline and places like Melbourne are an excellent canvas to learn more about how cities can address contemporary urban forestry challenges.
HN: Melbourne is one of the leading green cities in the world. Visiting provided us with valuable insights, inspiring me to contribute meaningfully to the development and betterment of my own city of Hong Kong.
GF: I think it was particularly valuable to learn first-hand about Melbourne’s challenges and greater experiences as they relate to climate change, global heating, and urban forestry. For example, Melbourne’s intensive efforts to preserve trees and green space for public temperature control and human health in the city by utilizing and recycling every available drop of stormwater and runoff.
FY: Being from Vancouver, Melbourne’s history has many parallels to us regarding colonization and the unjust treatment of their Indigenous Peoples. Therefore, experiencing Melbourne’s urban forests can aid in creating more than just new ideas for the future regarding climate change, but also how to reconcile the past.
How do trips like this benefit MUFL students academically and professionally?
BM: Trips such as this provide students with the opportunity to observe and understand how urban forestry practitioners in different regions approach decision-making and management of urban forests. These experiences are invaluable for both academic and professional growth, offering insights that can be directly integrated into my own scholarly work and professional practice.
GF: Academically, it was very valuable to make new connections and meet face to face with respected and award-winning journal authors and researchers including recent graduates of the MUFL program. Professionally, I feel like it literally broadened my horizons and made me realize that urban forestry is facing similar challenges in every corner of our planet, and we can all and should all be learning from our collective experiences.
FY: Academically, I think the trip helps retain a large combination of things learned throughout the MUFL program. Hearing lectures, or reading papers you are constantly learning. Comparatively, going to the place you are still learning but also retaining and connecting lessons to real world experiences. For instance, the Woody Meadow Planting site in Melbourne is a study that I had previously read about, but seeing the work in person really leaves a larger influence on what you remember. I think the MUFL trip benefited my professional development the most. It was an amazing and fun experience to get to meet your cohort in person. The connections formed on the trips are ones I know will continue even after we complete the program.
In 2026, the next MUFL cohort will explore urban greening in Montreal, Canada.
Whether you’re a recent graduate that can bring your acquired knowledge and apply it to tackle urban forestry challenges, or a professional ready to elevate your career, MUFL offers the skills, practitioners and community to lead the change.
To learn more about the MUFL program, its requirements, eligibility and admissions, an exclusive info session is taking place on November 28, 2025.