We see many people each year looking for Arborists, Certified Arborists, Licensed Arborists, and it causes us pain because the consumers are confused!! Little wonder that consumers are confused, as there is a lot of gray matter available on this subject, and the internet does not help. Let’s begin with what is an Arborist, at least at high level. First of all an Arborist is not somebody who works on trees. Working on a dog or cat does not make you a veterinarian; working on a person does not make you a medical doctor or surgeon. Neither does working on a tree make you an Arborist? It makes you a tree worker, maybe. You see, cutting logs in a forest does not make one an arborist, cutting firewood does not make you an arborist, I think we all agree on that. Why then does doing work for a commercial or residential customer make you automatically an arborist, I suggest it does not. Many of these individuals who claim to be arborists are doing so intentionally, to confuse you, and to gain your business. What else do they do? Some misrepresent their experience, education, insurance coverage or workers compensation coverage. For now let’s focus on what is an arborist. First we will lay out what some of the possible names are that you will see. There are Registered Consulting Arborist, Board Certified Master Arborist, ISA Certified Arborist, Certified Arborist, Certified Tree Worker and Certified Tree Climber as a few examples. What is the dictionary definition? An arborist is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees.
Several colleges offer a course for urban foresters, after which a written exam will give one a Certified Arborist credential. This is the entry level and unfortunately is not nearly as good as it once was. Why? Well, one used to need 2 years experience before writing the exam; they are taking that requirement away. Furthermore the credential lasts for life. So, you can have a Certified Arborist with no field experience or one who has had it for years and has not been keeping current in their field. However, there is a certification number that all will have and can prove this level of education. This is the absolute lowest you should consider, and all legitimate tree service companies should have at least one of these (actually they should have more, but if they do not have this then move on). The ISA Certified Arborist is really the lowest you want to be looking for, and all will proudly display their credentials. They also are verifiable online for anybody to see. To become an ISA Certified Arborist one must have a minimum of 3 years field experience, and be able to pass a 3.5 hour written exam. The individual needs to provide proof of ongoing education in aboriculture each year to retain this certification; otherwise they will need to rewrite the exam again. All tree services companies really should have at least one ISA Certified Arborists on staff, and larger companies should have a few.
The ISA Certified Tree Risk Assessor is somebody specifically trained in tree risk assessment, and the use of special, highly advanced techniques for assessment and use of tools in proper assessment. One needs to be an ISA Certified Arborist to write the exam, which is a written 2.5 hour exam on risk assessment. Typically a credential obtained by one who is active in consulting services. The Board Certified Master Arborist is a difficult exam, written after many years of field experience as an ISA Certified Arborist and many hundred hours of classroom time. A very difficult exam and one requiring the highest level of dedication and skill/knowledge in aboriculture. The Registered Consulting Arborist is one where the individual is either a Board Certified Master Arborist, or who is an ISA Certified Arborist with many hundred hours of additional classroom time. Part of the training for a Registered Consulting Arborist is the ASCA Academy, which is one week focused training on aboricultural consulting. The perspective arborist also is required to submit several Arborist Reports for review by a board prior to being granted the RCA credential. There are less than a thousand RCA’s in the world. Licensed Arborist – there is no such title or credential in Ontario. certified arborist – likely not real – it should always be capitalized. If it is real, it will ALWAYS be displayed with the arborist certification number, as those are the requirements of certification. Violations should be reported. Arborist or arborist, likely means nothing at all. A tree worker who is seeking to impress you. Why do you need an ISA Certified Arborist as a minimum? Well we will provide a whole article on that but for now: a) Credibility – you have assurance that the person who you are hiring has been trained and passed exam on : a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k.
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b) Field Experience – minimum of 3 years to write exam c) Ongoing education is being done and confirmed For any questions or for local presentations please call Simcoe Muskoka Tree Services Inc http://www.simcoemuskokatreeservices.ca To validate a Certified Arborist credentials check here: http://www.isa-arbor.com/certification/verifyCredential/index.aspx Anybody who is not listed here is making false and misleading claims. Some will make statements such as Certified Arborist on staff or Certified Arborists onsite, or on every job. If they do not show certification numbers, then they are misleading you. While an ISA Certified Arborist may cost more, the lowest cost is not always the best value.