What City Trees Do and Who Cares For Them
Madison is known as a Tree City for its efforts to care for urban trees. Keeping a diverse mix of healthy trees in the city requires constantly planting new ones every year as well as maintaining those planted years ago. City trees in Madison have to be able to withstand freezing winters, sidewalk salt, power lines above, concrete all around, and the occasional car crashing into them. Not to mention insect pests like Emerald Ash Borer.
For all trees put up with in our urban environment, the benefits they deliver are enumerable: shade, shelter, beauty, fresh oxygen, homes for animals, planet cooling.
But who speaks for those trees? City Forester Ian Brown does. City forestry staff advise on what and where trees get planted and how we, as a city, can care for some of the city’s oldest residents.
Today, we’re peeking behind the curtain of Madison’s City Forestry department.
Also on the show:
🌳 Madison’s Tree Inventory Starts Today!
🍂 Know where to go to peep beautiful fall leaves with Travel Wisconsin’s Fall Color Report
Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram!
Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads.
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Latest Episodes
Madison’s Best New Restaurants of Fall 2026
An Asian bistro on the Square, a hibachi and ramen spot on the east side, and a rooftop restaurant at the Madison Museum of Contemporary...
National Geographic Says Visit Madison. Plus What Is in Store for Midwest Vintage Flea
Our dear city of Madison just made National Geographic’s list of “The Best Places in the World to Travel to in 2027.” The list highlights...
A Peek Inside Madison’s Jaw-Dropping Concert Organ, Plus What's on Deck For MSO
Madison’s Overture Hall is home to a 30-ton pipe organ that’s so massive that it moves on giant tracks. City Cast Madison Host Bianca Mar...
Wisconsin Needs Solutions To Support Black Pregnancies
Black infants in Wisconsin are nearly three times more likely than white babies to die before their first birthdays. Cap Times health and...
‘Your City Could Be Better’: Why Salt Lakers are Adopting Storm Drains — Presented By City Cast Madison
How much ownership or responsibility do you feel as a resident of Madison? In Salt Lake City, people are being asked to “adopt a storm dr...
City Mulls Police Monitor Contract, County Budget Concerns, and New YMCA Breaks Ground
The Madison Common Council is set to vote on whether to terminate the interim independent police monitor on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Whether or...
How a Former Badger Changed Cinema
Did you know the iconic 1976 film “Car Wash” has a Madison connection? The film’s director, Michael Schultz, studied at UW-Madison where...
Madison Halloween Lore, a Decade of Wurk, and Another Brewers Win
For the second year in a row, UW-Madison students who live on campus will be charged $100 to host one guest over Halloween weekend. The u...
An Insider’s Guide to Madison’s Writing and Literary Scene. Plus, Books Every Madisonian Needs
The Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration kicks off this Thursday. The yearly tradition brings more than 80 authors to Madison for boo...
‘Your City Could Be Better’: A St. Paul Cell Phone Ban Teens Might Actually Like — Presented By City Cast Madison
Another Madison school year has begun — how are cell phones being handled? In Minnesota, one high school is demonstrating that a strict n...