About

Mission

The mission of the WSU Ravenholt Urban Forest Health Lab is to engage urban communities to enhance climate resiliency through novel education, service, and research about urban forests.

Program Director

Dr. Joey Hulbert

Postdoctoral Research Associate

WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center,
2606 West Pioneer, Puyallup, WA, 98371-4998

hulbe@wsu.edu

Program Advisors

Gary Chastagner

Professor, Department of Plant Pathology

Marianne Elliott

Research Faculty, Department of Plant Pathology

Todd Murray

WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center Director

Field and Laboratory Research Assistants

Fig Dewitz

Fig joined our program after completing two years in the Washington Conservation Corps following a BS in Environmental Science at University of Washington Tacoma.

Taylor McNees

Taylor is an incoming PhD student (Fall 2024) in Plant Pathology at WSU. She currently manages the Ornamental Plant Pathology lab.

Zay Montejano

Zay joined the program in Spring 2024 after working with Washington Conservation Corps and Pierce County.

Laboratory Alumni

Noah Willers

Noah joined our program after completing two years in the Washington Conservation Corps following a BS in Environmental Science at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY.

Jah’Niya Myers

Jah’Niya completed an summer internship in 2023 as a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) student. She studied Environmental Sciences at WSU and was part of the 2023 Tacoma Climate Leadership Cohort.

Program Funding

Gifts

The Ravenholt Urban Forest Health Lab was established from a generous gift from the Albert Victor Ravenholt Fund. We are extremely grateful for their support of our vision for this program.

If you want to add capacity and student opportunities to our program, please consider making a tax-deductible gift to our Forest Health Watch account at the WSU Foundation.

Grants

Support from the Albert Victor Ravenholt Fund was leveraged to help receive three grants from state and federal funding sources. Please contact us to see a draft or report of the proposal or study.

2024 – 2027

Tacoma Volunteer Tree Inventory Program – Project funded by a Community Assistance Grant provided by the WA DNR Urban and Community Forestry program.

2024 – 2029

Empowering Community College Students to Equitably Enhance Urban Forests – Program funding provided from the Forest Service as part of the unprecedented funding package for urban forestry provided in the Inflation Reduction Act.

2022-2023

Tacoma Sooty Bark Disease Vulnerability Study – Project funded by a Community Assistance Grant provided by the WA DNR Urban and Community Forestry program.