09-10-2018 Current Challenges of Urban Forests in Southern California with Leon Boroditsky. Currently the Municipal Arborist and Tree Surgeon Supervisor for the City of Los Angeles Dept of Recreation and Parks, Leon first started working with plants and gardens while a student at UC Berkeley. When he was given the opportunity to work with a residential arborist he had his epiphany: Trees! "There's nothing like hanging 80 feet up in a redwood...looking out at the panoramic view…and working in harmony with a tree." He became a Certified Arborist in 1993 and an ISA Tree Risk Assessor in 2010. Leon wears many hats, such as inspecting and evaluating the condition of trees, protecting trees in construction zones, choosing many of the species that are planted in our parks, overseeing LA's tree inventory system, working with volunteer groups and running the Trees in Tribute program. LAGC Member Helene and Leon Boroditsky - Leon describes the current challenges and status of Urban Forests in SoCal as "pretty bleak!"