Liam McCarthy is a Community Forester at Friends of Grand Rapids Parks. He’s passionate about helping people feel engaged and empowered in their community and planting lots of trees. We caught up with him about his background, how he discovered urban forestry, and how community shapes his role at Friends.
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks: Tell me about what you do at Friends.
Liam McCarthy: As a Community Forester, I help steward our urban forest. This ranges from advocational and educational programing; to hands-on tree plantings and maintenance with residents, volunteers, community partners, and our Green Team.
Friends: What inspired you to have a career that’s in sustainability and the environment?
Liam: I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. In college—out of fear about job security—I started to pursue a general business degree but quickly found out I didn’t enjoy it.
I came to realize that I craved a career with local and immediate impact. I wanted something to combat this feeling of confusion and dread, something I could feel good about while giving back to the city that has offered so much to me. After researching degrees I decided to take a chance on GVSU’s new Environmental and Sustainability Studies program. I wasn’t 100% confident in my choice, but I figured it was a good start.
Friends: Do you think you would have gotten into trees earlier if you had known it was a career option?
Liam: For sure. When I was much younger, no one really helped me explore environmental careers or ways of giving back. The closest thing I had was a middle school science summer camp. We did tree ID, water, and soil testing, stuff like that. That was my first foray into learning about the “natural” world. But, when I hit 8th grade, my school eliminated the program due to lack of student interest.
I am fortunate to be in a position at Friends to facilitate some environmental education. It feels nice to be educating students who may have had similar interests to me as a kid that I didn’t get access to. It’s a beautiful and much-needed closed loop for me.
Friends: How does it feel to be doing this work in community?
Liam: Community work makes me feel whole and grounded.
The opposite of community is isolation, which, ironically is at incredibly high levels in our technologically “connected” era. I have a strong belief in and desire for positive change in our world, and it all starts on a personal level.
We also can’t do the work alone. Our volunteers are the lifeblood and reason for our organization. We help other people help us, and in turn themselves and their communities. It’s education and empowerment, stewardship, and giving people a voice and a venue to participate in.
Residents are knowledgeable. They have a voice, needs, and giving them a space for such is paramount. A more involved and educated community is a stronger, happier, healthier, and more critical one.
We’re pretty lucky to be in a city with the funding and resources we have to make this happen—it’s not the norm.
Friends: What’s something that people might not expect about tree plantings with Friends?
Liam: It’s really not about the trees. The trees are a vehicle that facilitate communication and collaboration.
When we do tree plantings, we always give people the chance to get to know each other a little bit before getting into the work. We want people to have rapport. It’s easy to do our work when we’re laughing our way through it. By the end, we hope you worked hard and feel like your emotional tank is full. It’s the dichotomy of leaving our plantings tired yet energized.
Friends: What are you looking forward to this season?
Liam: I’m most excited about connecting with people and increasing our percentage of urban canopy coverage. Planning planting events is one aspect of our work, execution of the event and immediate benefit is another. The latter is what I always look forward to, rain or shine.
Friends: Best thing found while digging a hole?
Liam: Besides myself? A 1990s gatorade bottle. It was green and orange, and it was giving Micahel Jordan and greatness for sure.
Friends: Any book recommendations for people who want to think more deeply what they want to do in life? Or books that helped you on your own journey?
Liam: I have a few!
I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Friends: Thanks for chatting with us. Let’s plant a tree together sometime.
Liam: I’ll be ready for ya.
