U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Lefcourt Named Tree Warden of the Year

caution sign The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 6 years ago.

City Arborist Dave Lefcourt

David Lefcourt, City of Cambridge Arborist, received the Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ Association’s 17th annual Seth H. Swift Tree Warden of the Year award at the association’s 105th annual conference on January 9, 2018. Lefcourt was recognized for his commitment and dedication to the protection of public trees, and for his work with his community to maintain and improve tree growth and health.

“David works incredibly hard to manage our city’s urban forest,” said Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager. “David’s stewardship of our 19,000 public trees in the city is second to none, and his commitment to ensuring our city has a healthy urban forest for future generations is unwavering.”

Lefcourt has served the City of Cambridge as its City Arborist/Tree Warden for more than 10 years. In that role he is responsible for the preservation and maintenance of over 19,000 city trees, plants 300-600 trees each year, and maintains a proactive 6-year pruning cycle, pruning approximately 3,200 trees annually. He works closely with other city divisions and departments on tree-related issues, and he educates residents and contractors about the importance of tree protection and tree care. As a result of his continuing efforts within the Forestry Division to improve existing programs and develop new ones, the City of Cambridge has received a Tree City USA Growth Award for 10 consecutive years.

“David is wonderfully committed to our urban forest and is greatly deserving of this award,” said Owen O'Riordan, Commissioner of Public Works.

Prior to coming to Cambridge, Lefcourt was an Urban Forester with DDOT-Urban Forestry Administration in Washington D.C. for 1.5 years, and he was a Horticulture Technician with the Town of Wellesley for 3 years. He is a past president of both the Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ Association and the Society of Municipal Arborists. He is a Team Leader for the U.S. Forest Service’s volunteer Urban Forest Strike Team, trained to assist communities following natural disasters.

For more information about the City’s Urban Forestry Program, visit: www.cambridgema.gov/tree.

-###-

About David Lefcourt: Lefcourt holds a degree in Environmental Horticulture from the University of New Hampshire. He is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist (MCA), a Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA) with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), an ISA Municipal Specialist, and he holds the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ).

About Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ Association: (MTWFA): MTWFA is the nation’s oldest urban and community tree protection organization, founded in 1913 for the protection and preservation of trees. The position of tree warden is a municipal one, mandated under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 87, with the charge to protect public shade trees within the 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth.


Page was posted on 1/18/2018 12:13 PM
Page was last modified on 7/24/2023 9:55 PM
Contact Us

How can we help?

Please provide as much detail below as possible so City staff can respond to your inquiry:

As a governmental entity, the Massachusetts Public Records Law applies to records made or received by the City. Any information received through use of this site is subject to the same provisions as information provided on paper.

Read our complete privacy statement


Service Requests

Enter a service request via SeeClickFix for things like missed trash pickups, potholes, etc., click here