Treeline winter 2013 14

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The International Society of Arboriculture UK and Ireland Chapter Official Magazine Autumn 2013

This issue includes: London Ride for Research by Russell Ball, SMAcks of a Great Day Out! by Ian McDermott, Life on an English Oak by Gylnn Percival and Luke Hailey

Contents Editor’s Comment Dear readers,

3 Editor’s Comment A few words from Charlotte McDermott 4 Executive Director’s Say A few words from Ian McDermott

Last year was an interesting year, including the annual conference held in Toronto alongside 26 Events Calendar the International Tree Climbing ChampionNotable events for this year ships and the London Ride for Research, but as we wave goodbye to 2013 we wave hello 27 Contacts The people to call with your queries to 2014, which will hopefully be another great year for you all.

You can read about the SMA course held during the conference in Toronto, as well as the R4R, in this issue of Treeline, along with a couple of articles from the Bartlett experts, amongst other things.

This year’s conference will be held in Milwaukee, so that’s one to put in your diaries, as I’m sure it’ll be another good one.

I hope you all have a fantastic start to the new year and please look forward to the Spring issue of 2014!

— Charley

Features 5 Urban Tree Health Andy Hillman 6 Mulching for Tree Health Gylnn Percival and Luke Hailey 8 Laurence Vine-Chatterton Appointed 10 Life on an English Oak Glynn Percival and Luke Hailey 15 Global Submissions Sue James 16 Volunteerism Anonymous 18 SMAcks of a Great Day Out! Ian McDermott 20 London Ride for Research Russell Ball 22 Latest R2 Developments Kerry Todkill 24 The 2014 Tour Des Trees Tanya Mohn

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President’s Pulpit This year has been busy for the Chapter with lots going on around the country, right from the get go at Caple Manor the team have been working hard at Kew, Highclere Castle, Arb Camp. Big thanks to all those who have given up time to come and muck in to produce some great events, too many to list here and of course to all the members that have attend the events. We have also been successful in Canada and Switzerland with the talents of our Chapter TCC climbers, but I will let you read all about that in the pages that follow.

The chapter is busy planning more TRAQ training and assessment course in the near future, following the successes of the first in October, be quick if you want a place on this next one, I am sure it’s going to be popular going forward and this will be the second of many.

It is no secret that like many in the industry the chapter has been feeling the pinch this last few years. The Chapter Executive and Board of Directors have been working hard to trim the sails to help run a leaner faster ship in these choppy financial waters. The Chapter is always keen to run workshops, seminars and fundraisers so if you have any fresh ideas that you think will help the Chapter please come forward and contact Jean at the office or myself. The chapter is here to serve you and help you in your chosen career and in the present economy that mission is so much more important. We are hoping to announce a big event planned for the spring very soon, so watch this space.

This winter after promising preliminary talks with AA, we will be arranging formal talks to move the ISA UK&I Chapter and the AA

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closer to being one in the same organisation. The members continued support and encouragement is much appreciated.

I hope after many years we might final succeed to in creating a one, all encompassing, representative association to lead our industry forward as it continues to grow.

Alexander Laver ISA UK&I Chapter President

Urban Tree Health Urban Tree Health: A Much of the book is devoted to observation and Practical and Precise interpretation details relating to the five parameters.

Estimation Method The author makes thoughtful points and raises many

by Jerry Bond was published in 2012 by Urban Forest Analytics, LCC. It is part of a moderately technical Visual Identification Series that relies on high-quality photographs with concise and clear captions.

The book features scores of color photographs and diagrams that clearly illustrate the premise of the author, that there is a need for an urban tree health estimation methodology that is both practical and precise. The author gradually builds a strong case for this necessity.

Dr. Bond begins with an overview of the new method and follows with a section that provides context by defining terminology and establishing scope. Five parameters: ratio, opacity, vitality, growth, and quality are introduced and together they make up the core of the urban tree health method.

questions for the arboricultural community which might prove very helpful in creating an industry standard for tree health estimation.

When the author explains proxy variables and the formula for Net Primary Production, he moves a little beyond “moderately technical” in my opinion. I would instead characterize the book as technical, but made surprisingly accessible by the logical way it is presented and the excellent photographs and captions.

I had the pleasure of trying out the urban tree health estimation method with Dr. Bond and a large contingent from the New York ReLeaf Conference in Buffalo, NY in July, 2012. I found the method practical because the parameters were easily estimated and recorded. It was precise in that we usually arrived at the same conclusions. The group of participants in the workshop had varying levels of experience. Included were students, shade tree committee members, professional arborists, and others—and all appeared to be successfully employing the method.

In my opinion, a good use for this method is documenting and reporting tree health over time, as in a preservation plan or following tree stress caused by site development activities. Other uses for the urban tree health estimation method proposed in the book include research, response to treatment, valuation of individual trees, and evaluation of tree populations. I agree this is a useful tool and highly recommend the book to arborists and researchers. Educators, volunteers, and others interested in tree health will also find this book comprehensible and useful.

Urban Tree Health Estimator Version 1.0 is an accompanying data collection app that runs on free software for Android (including Kindle) devices.

Dr. Jerry Bond leads a workshop at the New York ReLeaf Conference in Buffalo in 2012.

—Andy Hillman, SMA Past President www.urban-forestry.com

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Mulching for Tree Health Luke Hailey and Glynn Percival Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory Benefits of Mulching For decades the benefits of mulches have been recognized in aboriculture, agriculture and horticulture. Despite its simplicity, mulching has numerous benefits and a few disadvantages. Mulches have great potential as a plant health amendment. This article focuses on wood based mulches rather than herbaceous or inorganic examples.

Mulches reduce the need for watering and reduce fluctuations in soil moisture content by replacing ground covering vegetation and forming a barrier between the soil and air. This physical barrier also suppresses weeds and stops them from competing with the tree for water and nutrients. Mulches also act as a fertiliser; they break down over time and release nutrients directly into the root zone of the tree. The increase in soil moisture and break down of the mulch encourages larger soil fauna such as worms and beetles which improve the physical structure of the soil by burrowing around, helping to alleviate compaction, increasing drainage, fertilizing and boosting the soil microbe population.

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Soil-borne pathogens such as Phytophora, Armillaria (Honey Fungus), Fusarium and Rhizoctonia species are increasingly recognized as economically important pathogens. Mulching has shown great potential for their prevention and control. Shortterm effects of mulches include increased soil moisture, soil temperature moderation, improved

soil nutrition, aggregation and drainage. Thus, mulches maintain a soil environment optimal for healthy root growth and by default induce a soil environment sub-optimal for opportunistic soil-borne pathogens. Physically, mulches also reduce splashing of rain or irrigation water, which can carry spores of disease causing organisms to the stems or leaves of susceptible tree species.

It is recognized that mulching causes a build up of positively influencing microbes in the soil; the rate of mulch breakdown will actually increase until the maximal microbial level is reached. These microbes increase the enzymic activity in the soil, producing enzymes which can literally digest pathogens such as Phytophora.

Non-pathogenic microbes will also compete against pathogens in a bio-control fashion. Organic mulches contain beneficial microbes originally present on the source plants and can be composted to boost their numbers.

Trees can root into the mulch layer which is particularly well defended from pathogens, due to its resident microbe flora, aeration and increased drainage.

Considerations The source of a mulch and plant material a mulch is derived from is important, living plants are often in competition with each other, which has lead to the evolution of allellopathy. This is where a plant produces and secretes chemicals which negatively impact the growth of others. These allelopathic chemicals can be

present in wood and bark and so can be released by the mulch as it breaks down. Notable examples are: walnut, eucalyptus, cypress and acacia. Mulches made from these trees can be toxic to other plants.

Another important consideration is the health of the source tree i.e. tree to be mulched. If these trees are infected with a pathogen which can survive on deadwood such as honey fungus, the mulch can spread this to trees it is applied to. It is also highly important to not bury the root crown of the tree; this can lead to damage of this important junction between roots and trunk due to increased moisture, cell death and subsequent pathogen attack.

Pure Mulches Pure mulches are mulches consisting of material derived from a single tree species. Most mulch available commercially is often pine bark but pure mulches studied have been made from other tree species. Pure mulches allow tailoring of mulches for a specific purpose. The composition and chemical makeup of material from different tree species varies greatly. Certain species will have higher levels of sugars, lignin, cellulose and a greater variety of secondary metabolites including allelochemicals, all of which have various benefits. Allelopathic chemicals can activate the growth and defence system of the plant the mulch is applied to. For example water soluble extracts of various pure mulches and found that those made from hawthorn, cherry, silver birch, English and evergreen oak increased germination rates, relative growth rate and photosynthetic efficiency of plants.

Previous Work

and 3m for large trees.

The UK Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory has assessed the benefits of pure mulches on a range of tree species. Hawthorn and cherry mulches reduced transplant mortality of a range of widely cultivated ornamentals by 60-80%. These pure mulches also increased crown growth of apples and pears by 100-150% and increased fruit yields by 100200%. On horse chestnut, we found mulches could reduce Phytophora root rot lesions by up to 60% and subsequently increase tree growth. Our present work includes looking at the benefits of willow mulches in protecting ash trees from Chalara ash die-back, which may wipe out 90-95% of ash trees within the UK. Willow mulches naturally contain salicylic acid, a natural and potent plant defence activator.

2. When applying mulch it is best to kill or remove existing ground cover or at least mow the grass very short and remove clippings.

Mulch should be applied directly to the soil surface, do not use landscape fabric to separate the mulch from the soil.

3. A mulch layer should be 5-10cm thick depending on the tree species and type of mulch applied.

4. To avoid root disruption for most species mulch should not be removed. Additional mulch should be added to maintain a 5-10cm depth on an annual basis.

5. Mulch should not be placed against the trunk. Mulch will retain too much moisture against the trunk that may result in disease.

In conclusion, with pressures to find non-chemical means of pathogen control stimulated by public and government demands to reduce pesticide usage, pure mulches potentially have a positive impact for those involved in the care and maintenance of urban, nursery, forestry and orchard trees as well as horticultural crop production systems. Practically mulches require little capital investment and only small adjustments to standard management aftercare procedures and may provide a useful cultural management strategy to aid in the control of potentially devastating tree diseases.

Mulching Tips 1. Mulch should be applied from the drip line to the trunk. If this is not practical, minimum mulch circle radii should be 0.3m for small trees, 1m for medium trees

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Laurence Vine-Chatterton appointed as Co-opted Treasurer to Arboricultural Association The Arboricultural Association announced today that Laurence Vine–Chatterton has been appointed to the organisation’s board of trustees. As both treasurer and a trustee he will be responsible for overseeing the association’s financial viability and ensuring that its affairs are conducted within the remit of its legal obligations and constitutional objectives. Vine-Chatterton replaces Geoff McClure who resigned the post earlier this year.

with him in the future.”

Having originally qualified as an accountant at Price Waterhouse, Laurence has held a number of senior management posts in Canada and Europe including Nokia and Novar plc. As President of Intermet Europe from 1999 to 2008 he oversaw the group’s global expansion and final sale of the company’s European interests to the Sakthi Automotive Group. He also chairs the Audit committee for the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

The Charitable objective of the Arboricultural Association is to Advance the Science of Arboriculture for the Public Benefit.

Since 1964 the Arboricultural Association has been the national body in the UK and Ireland for the amenity tree care professional in either civic or commercial employment at craft, technical, supervisory, managerial or consultancy level. There are currently over 2,000 members of the Arboricultural Association in a variety of membership classes.

It does this by setting standards, promoting standards and enabling compliance.

The Arboricultural Association’s Website is www.trees.org.uk

Karen Martin CEO of the Association commented on the appointment: “Laurence brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the trustee board at a very important time in the association’s development. His commercial experience, advice and counsel will no doubt prove invaluable as we strive to extend and improve the benefits that we offer to our members. I am sure I echo the management team’s view in both welcoming Laurence to the board of trustees and looking forward to working 8

The Malthouse Stroud Green, Standish Stonehouse Gloucestershire GL10 3DL Tel: 01242 522152 Email: admin@trees.org.uk Web: www.trees.org.uk

Phil Wade, Director – Sorbus International Ltd

Sorbus International Limited are leading suppliers of specialist & hi-tech equipment to the arboriculture, forestry, utility, grounds maintenance, landscaping & environmental care sectors in the UK & worldwide.

In late 2012 the PICUS 3 was launched; the most compact, lightweight, fastest & user friendly PICUS system ever.

The PICUS 3 hardware is a complete re-design & the result of this and the new Q73 software means time on site is effectively halved compared with previous PICUS systems.

Quentin Nicholls, Managing Director of Arbortrack Systems Ltd comments: “After 10 years of getting to know the PICUS, it was time for us to take the plunge and buy the PICUS 3.

The first thing you notice is the smaller case, which is now not much bigger than a standard briefcase. I found the PICUS 3 to be easier to use on site and there is no longer the need for a PC as the PICUS 3 will store the records of dozens of trees. The sensor belts are more streamlined & easier to handle & it also has built-in GPS and a clinometer to accurately measure the heights of trees.

I would also thoroughly recommend purchasing the electronic callipers as these are simple to operate and considerably speeds up the time taken for each inspection.”

Please contact Sorbus International Limited for more information on the PICUS 3 or go to our website www.sorbus-intl.co.uk 9

Life on an English Oak

By Luke Hailey and Glynn Percival

As any and everyone who works in the arboricultural industry is aware, both acute oak decline and sudden oak death represent a major threat to our national tree, the English oak.

The ecological value of oaks is frequently talked about, however, a full ecological “work up” of exactly what insects do live on the tree has surprisingly received little attention… until now. In a recent study, Mr Luke Hailey and Dr Glynn Percival of the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory collected and recorded the insect communities present on a number of English Oaks; Quercus robur, located in Barnes Common, London.

English Oaks are thought have the highest importance to wildlife of any native tree species.

Although requiring a microscope to view the majority in any detail, a rich variety of insects were found on the study oaks with varying lifestyles, diets and behaviours; some rather surprising and sometimes slightly horrifying. For reasons of clarity each insect group is discussed separately.

Chewing Insects Chewing insects were a varied group, consisting mainly of larvae from several different insect orders as well as a number of adult beetles. Adult weevils were a charming group, often having iridescent scales (Fig.1) or unique features such as the long rostrum (mouthparts) of Curculio species (Fig.2) used for chewing a hole into acorns into which their eggs are laid.

While fly larvae were easy to recognize, having no legs (Fig.3), free-living sawfly larvae were trickier to tell from those of butterflies and moths (Fig.4).

The telling features to distinguish between these insects are the numbers of prolegs (the wider, more rounded legs) and eye structure. For example sawflies have only one simple eye on each side of the head and have six plus pairs of prolegs on their abdomen (Fig.5).

Leaf-miners Leaf-miners are larvae, main-

ly of butterflies and moths, but sometimes wasps, beetles or flies. Leaf-miners live in,

Sucking insects

and eat, the interior of leaves.

You may have seen invasive leaf-miner damage on horse chestnut trees, which has much more impact than native leaf-miners on English oaks.

Feeding damage in the form of leaf-mines come in varying shapes and locations on the leaf and, along with other characteristics such as the distribution of waste inside the mines, are characteristic of the species which made them. Leaf-miner larvae are generally flattened and translucent (Fig.6) making them harder to observe from outside the mine.

important group in the insect community of English oaks.

The group consisted of Hemiptera which have special straw-like mouthparts (Fig.7) for “tapping� into the plant and sucking sap, while thrips (aka thunderbugs) which are very small and pierce/scrape plant cells to drink sap. The prominent groups of Hemiptera found on the study trees were aphids, leafhoppers, and scale insects.

Sucking insects were another

Hemiptera also formed part of the predators found on oaks.

While the majority of them use their mouthparts or rostrum,

to suck the fluids from plants, some have turned to sucking the innards from other insects.

In the case of assassin bugs for example, their rostrum has changed to suit this, becoming shorter and thicker with a curve. The rostrum is used to inject digestive fluids and then consume liquidized tissues. In the case of Empicoris vagabundus, this assassin bug has gained other predatory features such as raptoral front legs (Fig.8), like those of a praying mantis.

Predators The majority of predators found on the English oak trees were

spiders. Some were among the larger insects collected. Spiders show great variation in the size of their eyes, legs and mouthparts according to their ecological niche. Spiders often feed in a similar fashion to the assassin bugs, injecting digestive fluids and then sucking the prey dry, having previously killed it by injecting venom. Lacewing larvae were another interesting predator with distinctive long mandibles for catching and consuming prey (Fig.9).

Parasites and parasitoids

Mites

live on the outside of a young spider host (Fig.12). The adult wasp temporarily paralyzes the spider and lays an egg near the waist of the abdomen where the spider cannot remove it. The larva then hatches and feeds from the host’s body fluid. The larva bides its time, allowing the host to grow and removing just sufficient host body fluids to stay alive until the spider is large enough to provide a substantial feast. Once the host is sensed to be the right size, the larvae quickly sucks it dry,

Mites are smaller arachnids, being related to spiders but more closely to ticks. They can be harmful to plants e.g. spider mites, but many are scavengers, important for breaking down waste in the ecosystem of the tree. Harvestmen, which are larger mites, also have a similar function. Psocids aka barklice (Fig.10) are another group of important scavengers on oak.

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One mite found was parasitic, having latched onto a gnat to feed (Fig.11). Parasites and parasitoids were one of the most interesting groups found on the study oaks, although not for the squeamish. Parasitoids are similar to parasites and spend a significant part of their life living on and off a host, but are distinguished by actually killing, sterilizing or consuming the host. Polysphincta and related species are ectoparasitoid wasps, meaning their larvae

growing rapidly, and pupates into the winged adult form to start a new lifecycle.

Other parasitoid wasps are endoparasitoids, with their eggs being laid directly into the host. The larvae then consume the non-vital parts of the host’s body. Afterwards, the host, often dead but sometimes only immobilized, is used to protect the wasp larvae during pupation and metamorphosis into the imago or adult. In our microscopic search, aphids were commonly found like this, the ‘mummies’ appearing to have a swollen belly (Fig.13) with the

cocoon joined to the leaf surface (Fig.14) and the larvae curled up safely inside (Fig.15). Parasitoid wasps are even known to parasitize each other! Species which do this are known as hyperparasitoids and are a demonstration of the complex levels of ecology present even at micro-scales. Many of the wasps found were so small they were hard to study in any detail, even at high magnifications.

Luke Hailey and Glynn Percival

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GLOBAL SUBMISSIONS HERALD WORLD-CLASS PROGRAMME FOR 2014 TREES, PEOPLE & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT II The call for papers for the major international urban trees research conference Trees, People and the Built Environment II (TPBEII) has now closed, with submissions from a record number of countries and a guarantee from the conference partners of a world-class programme. In addition, five renowned organisations have been secured as headline sponsors in a move that reaffirms the position of the conference as the premier event for professionals working with trees and green infrastructure in the built environment.

antee a world-class programme of high calibre speakers. They will join headline speakers Sir Terry Farrell CBE, Professor Timothy Beatley, and Professor Herbert Girardet.�

The headline sponsors for TPBEII are Civic Trees, which has been supplying, planting and relocating mature and semi-mature trees since 1963, Deep Root, a leading urban landscape products and ecosystem services supplier, the Forestry Commission, Lend Lease, an international leader in property and infrastructure, and Myerscough College.

The inaugural TPBE conference took place in 2011. More than 400 delegates are expected to attend the 2014 event, bringing together tree professionals, landscape architects, urban designers, engineers, architects, planners, ecologists and conservationists. It looks set to be one of the largest urban tree conferences ever held in Britain. Booking for the conference will open later in November 2013.

Chair of the conference steering group Dr Mark Johnston MBE commented “The huge success of the call for papers is tribute to the outstanding work of the members of the group. We received almost 100 submissions from 27 countries. Competition for slots at the conference was intense, but we can guar-

TPBEII is a pan-industry partnership initiative between more than 20 organisations representing professionals within the urban forestry and built environment sectors. It is hosted by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) as its 2014 National Conference and takes place 2-3 April, 2014 in Birmingham.

Contact: Sue James, Coordinator, Trees and Design Action Group (www.tdag.org.uk) E-mail: sue.james1@virgin.net Tel. 01974 821 673 or 077906 849 674 15

VOLUNTEERISM

"The practice of volunteering your time or talents for charitable, educational, or other worthwhile activities, especially within your community."

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Reading the recent Treeline article from Alistair Magee on his experience of representing his country at the International Tree Climbing Competition in 2012, I admit to feeling quite surprised that someone actually put forward the sincere comments he did, about the value of the people, who through really hard work, enable these events to not just happen, but to be memorable and successful. The Volunteers.

It also set me to thinking from a personal perspective, about how little is ever written about the volunteerism that the ISA (UK & I Chapter) depend upon to ensure this industry organisation carries on holding these competitive events.

I have read that in the USA, the benefits of volunteerism are numerous, apparently including, (in no particular order), self satisfaction, relaxation, socialisation, status or reward, career opportunities and altruism! Having watched and been part of many ‘volunteer led’ events, I cannot ever remember feeling relaxed or even sociable because the pressure to get things done is always intense. Self satisfaction is not something I recognise either, it usually comes with misplaced pride and always before a fall ! I definitely don’t recollect achieving ‘Status or Reward’ over the years, and am fairly sure my career was not enhanced by the massive workload that being a vol-

Which side of the pond you live on, seems to play a large part in ‘Who’ volunteers, ‘Why’ they do it, and ‘What’ they get out of it.

unteer can entail - largely because there are always too few people available meaning the work load is too heavy for the few. That would leave Altruism “disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being - or for the benefit of, others!” Hmm...

In America, one of the most litigatious societies, where everybody sues everyone else for whatever happens wherever, Volunteerism is strangely, also pretty much, ‘a given’ - children are brought up with it and it seems genuinely to be an everyday part of their life, or perhaps they just make more noise about it than others who just quietly get on with it! Either way, it seems much easier to get interested volunteers in the States than it is on our own Island.

Personally, I think the reasons why people volunteer is simply, to help out, because they hope to make a difference and are willing to donate their time and skills freely, to benefit the Industry’s future. I don’t actually believe that at the time of offering volunteer services, there is any personal fore thought about making yourself feel better, or the ‘self-satisfaction’

mentioned earlier, but there is no doubt that after the event, there is a feeling of relief it went well and a pleasure in being part of other peoples experiences. Many of the volunteers within the UK & I Chapter have been active since the beginning, (spanning 3 decades), and still continue giving their services. I have often been told , it is a way of giving something back to the Industry and a means of ensuring their practical and technical experience can be handed on to help younger less experienced climbers to make tree work safer.

In the early days of the ‘Jamboree’ style of Climbing competitions, the spirit of those times was very much one of meeting up, catching up, showing each other new pieces of kit and new ways of using it, great ‘Craik’ around blazing fires and a friendly rivalry in the trees. In relative terms, the climbers at those Jamborees were just as skilful as the new generation of climbers today, given that they climbed to the extent that their equipment allowed them to. With the great leaps forward in the quality and diversity of today’s highly refined equipment, the emergence of new techniques allows today’s climbers to demonstrate the original basic skills in a very advanced way. Volunteers to organise and run those past events seemed much easier to come by then, when the commercial rewards for a ‘Champion’ were not so high!

But, all things move on and where originally, the pleasure of taking part in the competition and pride in your ‘mates’ success (and possibly your own) were the rewards, the competitions now are different events where success can have a very meaningful commercial result, advertising opportunities and career uplifts, leaving less room for Volunteerism when commercial considerations have to take priority for many climbers who, particularly in this economic climate, are understandably reluctant to step back from the rewards of competing when much needed business benefits can be the result of successful competition.

Whatever the reasons, the Chapter often seems short

of reliable volunteers to help with their events but by spreading the work load over more willing horses, the existing usual suspects won’t be flogged to death!

If new, younger people don’t step forward to carry these events through into the future, there will be much more lost than just a competition; the camaraderie, the discussion and exchange of views and techniques, the pleasure of being part of our Industry family and the pride in others achievements.

These things are priceless.

So is being a Volunteer.

You don’t get paid, you are often on the wrong end of a disappointed competitor’s mood and usually left to clear up at the end of the event whilst everyone else is on their way home, but there are many special rewarding times too! Sometimes a Competitor even thanks you!

There is a real warmth inside, watching young climbers improve their performances over the years to eventually emerge as successful competitors, and there is the pleasure that you feel at the end of a successful event, having been part of it and helped other people to enjoy the experience as well.

I came across a phrase a while back, “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give” It is good that some of our best climbers have taken part in workshops at trade shows etc., and encouraging to see the 2012 UK & I champion, volunteering at this year’s event. I would like to think that many more of our first class competitors will eventually become volunteers and benefit the new generation of young climbers, by passing on their experience and techniques and by giving something special back to the Industry that has been such an enriching part of their life.

I hope so, because if not, today’s volunteers who have worked so hard over many years for these events, may wonder why they did.

— ‘An olg nag’

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SMAcks of a great day out!

The first half of the tour was led by Peter Simon, the Landscape Architect responsible for the two main projects we were looking at and none other than Jim Urban, who is always worth the ticket money whenever he speaks. Two coaches set off from the convention centre full of “Muni’s” and we were introduced to the programme for the day by Pete and Jim and were then unloaded in the downtown Toronto streets to look at some of the issues surrounding the establishment of city sidewalk trees and the innovations employed by the City to ease the progress of the tree into maturity.

For me, one of the absolute essentials when attending the ISA annual international conference is to make it to the SMA day on the Wednesday. It has been a constant source of idea’s and drive for me and part of that is meeting Municipal Arborists from around the world and hearing how they deal with the same old problems we all endure when managing the interface between people and trees!

I’ve only missed one SMA tour in the last few years (Chicago) and that was because it was fully booked up which certainly shows that I am not the only one who feels this way. This year however was a slight departure from the convention in as much as the tour was all day and not just part of the day and the reason? We were in Toronto, the land of the Urban Forest Programme and a whole day was never going to be enough to sample the extent of the work the city Foresters do here, but it was a pretty good window into their work none the less.

We looked at various examples or rain gardens and detention pits where storm water is intercepted through small “gutters” set at the edge of the footways and the water runs into shrub beds and the tree pits. As you can see from the photo some errors were made in the size of the grates and many block up quickly with rubbish (in this case cigarette butts) but by and large they function well.

The group saw examples of flexible paving solutions where larger trees had been retained and various historical issues of small containers around large trees were discussed with some enthusiasm!

After a hearty impromptu boxed lunch hastily re-arranged due to the torrential rain we set off for the lakeside development known as “Sugar Beach” to the east of the City minus one Jim

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Urban who had another speaking date to get to. I think if I were to sum this project up from a European perspective it would be: how much!?

I have, like many tree managers, accepted the axiom that it is better to plant a $100 tree in a $200 hole rather than a $200 tree in a $100 hole. However a $50 tree in a $50,000 hole was quite a cultural shock!

If you want to take a look at the lakeside project we visited in the afternoon session there is some background video and info here from 2010: http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/08/will_silva_ cells_help_improve_torontos_urban_forest/ There is no doubt at all that Toronto has achieved some of the highest extension growth rates I have ever seen in a city tree via the incredible engineering that had gone into the project; 4 to 6 feet in a season on hybrid red maples is high even for this species – but I can’t help feeling that it was just too high and inevitable future failures were discussed, albeit briefly, and from an Arborist’s perspective, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you necessarily should! However, establishing an avenue along the exposed lakeside to such a degree in three years is a remarkable achievement.

The tour finished with a trip to the city nursery

(pictured). There the Toronto Urban Forestry division talked to us about the production methods and selection of trees and we looked some of the trees left over from the previous planting season that were being kept over in the holding areas pictured. This too was the subject of some discussion.

So, let’s see what the Milwaukee municipals can do to top this next year!

Ian McDermott Executive Director ISA UK&I Chapter

LONDON RIDE FOR RESEARCH TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!

And so it was, that, On October 23rd at 8am on a day of sunshine and showers, 21 intrepid cyclists from across the country embarked on Fund 4 Trees’ second Ride for Research charity event of the year, heading along the Thames Path from Kew Gardens to Westminster and back, a total of 29 miles in all.

Tony Kirkham, of Kew, was enlisted to fire the starter’s gun, and the riders made their way along the muddy scenic towpaths of Kew and Richmond through Hammersmith, Fulham, Lambeth and Wandsworth, to the Houses of Parliament.

Along the route two schools were to be visited and some of the pupils were in for a tree planting and arboriculture lesson. St Pauls Primary was the first. Russell Ball led the pupils out to the spot where a sweet gum tree was to be planted and gave a short lesson to the throng of fascinated faces, (the ‘arbs’ of the future perhaps?)

Russell asked the question:

‘INFINITY!’

Well, the arbs’ of the present were in no mood to let the pace drop and hurtled away from the first school en route to an important and time sensitive appointment looming on the horizon.

Completely out of character with some of the group, the riders stopped commenting on the state of the street trees (and the fact that one of their group may have failed a ‘caffeine test’ due to the rumoured wearing of a cycling accessory, which put the wind up more than one of our hardy bunch) and concentrated their thoughts instead on arriving at the second school St Faiths Primary on time where the Deputy Mayoress of Wandsworth would plant a cherry tree with the children. It was time for the second crocodile of the day to venture forward, as the older children led the young ones out into the playground.

‘Children, how many trees do you think there are in London?’

Russell, sticking with his well prepared script, asked the children again how many trees they thought there were in London, and, to his mild astonishment, found that the answer, to the ‘word’, was the same:

To which the reply came,

‘INFINITY!’ came the reply!

‘100? No, ten hundred. No, 500?’ Until one voice ventured the best answer to be heard all day,

The be-chained Deputy Mayoress then broke the ground with her official spade, and everybody

cheered. The tree officers Gavin Simmons (Hammersmith & Fulham), and Patrick Langley (Wandsworth) made sure all procedures went well and the cycling convoy wound its way to lunch at Battersea Park, and then off to the Houses of Parliament for a talk on t assessment for heritage) trees by Mark Wadey.

Negotiating the precarious roads around Parliament Square, and with the necessary photos taken for perpetuity, our intrepid group finished the course and went straight to the pub; a pint on a sunny Kew Green.

Which surprised nobody.

By the way there are approximately 6.5 million trees in London, some say 8 million whilst others just say infinity!

The next Ride will coincide with the ICF Trees, People & the Built Environment II conference on 1st April 2014.

Thanks to Gavin Simmons (Tree Officer: Hammersmith & Fulham) and Patrick Langley (Tree Officer: Wandsworth) for organising tree planting with their contractors Advanced Tree Services and Ginkgo Landscapes. Also thanks to Karen Nolan for preparing the delicious packed-lunches.

Riders: Russell Ball; Richard Barnes; Mick Boddy; David Challice; Tracy Clarke; Mike Cooper, Dermot Cox; Ollie Coyne; Rebecca Farrar; Martin Gammie; Sharon Hosegood; Alvan Kingston; Karen Martin; Jonathan Mills; Tim Moya; Chris Rea; Jon Ryan; Oliver Stutter; Tom Thompson; Graham Underhill; Mark Wadey & Peter Wharton.

Last but not least, many thanks to the event sponsors; Capita Symonds, City Suburban Tree Surgeons (T-shirts and lunches) and especially to Barcham Trees for the supply of the trees. — Russell Ball

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Latest R2 Developments As new Register of Tree Work Operatives (R2) website is unveiled the team behind R2 discuss the latest progress.

As the R2 project marks its first anniversary significant milestones have been reached thanks to the time invested by key volunteers in the arboriculture industry. This progress has also been made possible thanks to the growing number of businesses lending their support to the scheme.

One of the key beneficiaries of R2 will be individual arboriculture workers who can capture their skills, experience and training and identify their current job grade, as well as planning their future career path. “In order to make this possible it has been critical to get feedback from practising arboricultural operatives about the typical roles with

the sector and the job titles, qualifications and training required to achieve that grade, along with relevant task-specific experience and the typical time served”, explains Tony Lane, arboriculture consultant and R2 management committee member.

For each job grade there will be a pre-defined set of qualifications, training and experience that an individual must have achieved over a minimum set time period to attain that title.

“Much consideration has been given to quality assurance in order to ensure that when an employee claims that they have achieved a particular grade, the employer can be confident that the worker has met the standard,” explains Ros Burnley, Lantra’s Industry Partnership Manager.

R2 will have an annual registration fee of £30 (including VAT) for an individual tree worker, reduced rates will be available for businesses purchasing multiple registrations.

Discussions have been held with key employers in the sector with the aim of gaining feedback and winning support.

The result of these discussions has been used to map key arboriculture roles into a progression structure.

This will form the foundation of R2.

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New R2 sponsors include Lantra Awards and Oakwood Tree Consultants, who join Makita, Bartlett Tree Experts, CTC Recruitment, Beechwood Trees and Landscapes Ltd, Dartmoor Tree Surgeons and Land Based Training. “We are extremely encouraged that these respected names within the UK arboricultural industry can see the benefit of R2 and share our vision of helping to create and retain highly trained individuals and flexible, skilled workforces”, explains Jaime Bray steering group chair.

The development of R2 has been led by a Steering Group which is celebrating its first birthday by becoming a Management Committee and agreeing the governance for R2.

Lantra has been selected as the host for R2, however the long term aim is for R2 to become self sufficient.

“In order to refine R2 employers are being invited to trial the system and provide feedback” explains Ros Burnley, Lantra’s Industry Partnership Manager. To register your interest for the R2 pilot email info@R2register or call 02476 69 69 96.

To find out more about the project visit the new R2 website www.R2register.co.uk.

About Lantra Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for landbased and environmental industries, working to ensure these businesses access the training, qualifications, skills and knowledge they need.

Lantra represents 16 industries: agricultural livestock and crops; animal care; animal technology; aquaculture; environmental conservation; equine; farriery; fencing; fisheries management; floristry; game and wildlife management; land-based engineering;

horticulture, landscaping and sports turf; production horticulture; trees and timber and veterinary activities.

By working together with the sector, Lantra leads research on skills issues and business needs, sets national standards and develops qualifications to meet modern business needs and help businesses grow through skills.

For more information see www.lantra.co.uk.

About R2 The steering group involves trade associations and arboricultural businesses including the Arboricultural Association; International Society of Arboriculture UK and Ireland Chapter; Glendale Countryside; Bartlett Tree Experts; Tony Lane of A. M. Lane Ltd; Landex Colleges; and Lantra. The group is chaired by Jaime Bray of Treetop Arboriculture.

Sponsorship packages are available for businesses wishing to show their support for this ambitious project, contact info@r2register.co.uk.

Lantra Press Office Kerry Todkill, Assistant Communications Manager Tel: 02476 858 418 Email media@lantra.co.uk

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The 2014 Tour Des Trees

By Tanya Mohn

provide children’s programs along the way about how trees grow, why they are important, and how to take an active role in their care.

The International Tree Climbing Championship and Arbor Fair, hosted by the International Society of Arboriculture, will take place on August 2, the last day of the event.

Bitter cold weather may be sweeping through many parts of the country, but some tree enthusiasts and dedicated bicyclists are beginning to think about warmer climates; they are planning to ride in the 2014 STIHL Tour des Trees, a weeklong cycling ride that typically travels through different regions of North America for hundreds of miles.

This year riders will cycle 585 miles through Wisconsin from July 27-August 2, stopping in Madison, Door County, Green Bay and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, noted for its arboriculture and urban forestry curriculum.

The purpose of this annual event is for cyclists to raise funds for tree research and education while enjoying urban and rural riding, local scenery, and camaraderie.

The Badger State, the organizers note, is known for its “rolling country roads, pristine forests, acres of orchards and sparkling lakefront views (plus world-famous beer, brats and cheese).”

The ride is a fundraiser for the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) to promote public awareness in the communities visited of the importance of trees to the quality of urban life. The money raised by cyclists is used to support research dedicated to keeping trees and forests healthy, with a focus on urban trees, the organizers said.

Every Tour includes tree plantings, educational programs and community outreach. (All activities along the route are open to the public.)

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Professor Elwood Pricklethorn, (Toronto arborist and veteran Tour cyclist Warren Hoselton) will

Last year cyclists rode around Lake Ontario in upstate New York and Ontario. In 2012, Tour participants traveled a loop through Oregon that took in Pacific coastal areas, the Columbia River Gorge, vineyards, and Mt. Hood. In 2011, participants traveled through the Blue Ridge Mountains and visited historical trees and planted new ones at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, and at the National Arboretum in Washington. (A tree using an acorn from the tree where Robert E. Lee met with his generals during the Civil War was planted in Richmond.)

The idea for the event began during the International Society of Arboriculture conference in Philadelphia in 1991 when several arborists attending the conference brain-stormed about creating a fundraising event that combined their passions for cycling and the environment. The first Tour des Trees took place in 1992. Since then, more than $6.6 million dollars have been raised to fund tree research and educational programs, including more than 400 research grants focused on arboriculture, urban forestry and the safety of the tree care workforce.

Sponsors of the 2014 STIHL Tour des Trees, including STIHL Inc., a manufacturer of handheld, outdoor power equipment, and other companies and organizations, plan to cover food and hotel costs for riders, full mechanical support, and other event costs.

Registration opens Wednesday, January 7, 2014, and is limited to 100 full-tour riders. Participants are asked to commit to raising a minimum of $3,500. Partial registration, with a prorated fundraising requirement, is also available. (photos of the 2013 Tour des Trees are courtesy of Jeanette Martin)

Events Calendar Upcoming Events for the Busy Arborist

February 26th

2014

Arb. Job Fair Shuttleworth College, Beds.

www.shuttleworth.ac.uk

6th

BS 8545 Road Show, Leicestershire

http://www.trees.org.uk/training-events/

12th

MTOA quarterly meeting, Sheffield

www.mtoa.co.uk

March

April 2nd – 3rd

Trees, People and the Built Environment II, Birmingham

http://www.charteredforesters.org

May 2nd – 3rd

Chapter annual ArborCamp, Enfield

www.isa-arboriculture.org

26th – 28th

ISA European congress, Turin.

www.isa-arbor.com

June 23rd – 25th

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TRAQ Course, Moulton College, Northants

www.isa-arboriculture.org

The recent TRAQ course in North London.

Contacts Who’s Who?

Contact list for the chapter volunteers President

Alex Laver

President-Elect

Jess Herbert

Vice-Presidents

Bob Widd Vacant

Past President

Russell Ball

Editor

Charlotte McDermott

Exec. Director

Ian McDermott

Office Manager

Jean McDermott

PA Reps CAS MTOA

Bob Widd Tim Wetherhill

Standing Committee’s TCC Ian Morgan SSA Stuart Phillips Officers Rise for Research Tree Fund Certification AFAG Commercial EAC Website: Email: Tel:

Russell Ball Glynn Percival Dan Yeomans Alex Laver Jon Tonks Craig Johnson

www.isa-arboriculture.org Enquiries@isa-arboriculture.org +44 (0)121 556 8302

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