At its quarterly meeting last week, the Macomb Tree Board interviewed newly-appointed City Forester Gloria Diggs, a 2014 Western Illinois University agricultural science graduate. In addition to working for the City of Macomb, Diggs serves in the Army National Guard.
She became a certified arborist, and will renew her tree risk assessment certification this month.
“This is an excellent skillset,” responded Tree Board ChairTim Howe. “Her TRAC certification places her in a position to aid neighboring communities if requested.”
Howe recalled that he had worked with Diggs when he was Macomb’s first city forester.
“We planted a lot of trees together,” he recalled. As the city forester, Diggs’ main responsibility is the upkeep of the city’s more than 3,000 trees. She said some of them will need to be removed or replaced, and is drawing a list for the eventual removals, and that she has recently completed some tree trimming, primarily to ensure driver visibility. While she was away in June, the city contracted for the removal of eight trees. Diggs said she watered trees during the summer heat, including 17 surrounding the downtown square.
