Simply speaking, any arborist is able to develop and deliver defendable opinions in a report. Many Detective Dendro stories were based on arborist reports. Suspicious Specks turned on the mysteries within the tree. The one-page appraisal report was finished and faxed during a lunch break. Fearsome Fossil countered nine points raised in favour of executing a stinky ginkgo, and convinced an historical commission to spare it. Detectable Decline banished ‘mortality spiral’ myths and reversed a rival’s condemnation of a valued arboreal asset. We’ll extract elements of writing from these mostly true tales, turn some grammatical nuts and bolts, and rebuild the real-life reports.

Then we’ll head out to the trees, and see what they have to say. Templates will be provided, to help systematise the critical skills of forensic diagnosis.  See how Background, Assignment, Observations, Analysis, Discussion and Conclusions flow as smoothly as any conversation. Unlock the potential in basic cutting-and-pasting, and advance your ability to integrate illustrations, edit and revise. With confidence and practice, you can successfully sell your opinions in the form of arborist reports.

OUTLINE

• Introduce the topic and the speaker and the participants.
• Deconstruct the plots of stories into the elements of a report.
• Remove drama from assignments and reports
• Outdoor activity: Small groups reporting on appraisal.
• Lunch and discussions.
• Delving into inspecting tree condition and writing specifications.
• Outdoor inspection using both specimen and grove forms.
• Indoor discussion and the quest for consistency.

OUTCOMES

Participants will take away positive experiences using two different approaches to the management of trees. They will understand:

• Basic outlines and forensic methods to use for reports,
• How and when new information gets incorporated or not,
• What pitfalls and perils to look out for,
• How to keep clients, managers, and stakeholders on board, and
• How to deliver a defendable report that gets the job done.

By simply but systematically communicating:

• Contractors will gain more trust and confidence from clients,
• Employees will get through more to managers, and get more respect, and
• More trees will be better managed, and
• Public perception of the industry will improve.

INDUSTRY BENEFITS

People who attend this workshop and apply some of what they have seen will work all over the province of Queensland. They will see opportunities for their new skills to exert a positive outcome, wherever there are trees. People they interact with along the way will see tree care in a new way when objectives are clarified and specifications are clear and to the point — increasing tree value.

The purpose of the course is directly parallel with the interests of the industry. If management is simplified, the benefits and contributions made by trees will shine through. As the value of trees is appreciated, the value in tree managers, arborists who report, goes up as well.

Veteran trees can be transformed from perceived liabilities into cherished assets. By using International standards and practices, risk can be mitigated from high to acceptably low. Pruning is the most obvious and visible need; reducing the trees’ size can always reduce the likelihood of failure. But how much pruning is enough?  How much is too much?

We’ll look at research that provides reliable guidance toward answering these pruning questions. But let’s not forget the bottom half of the tree. Follow the ANSI A300 standard on the trunk, flare, and root inspection as we assess big old trees. Decay at the lower stem, flare and roots can be managed by inspection, treatment and monitoring. Document strength gain on monitoring visits. Give trees a chance to adapt to their environment and to our management.

Give our management a chance to adapt symbiotically to tree response.

Topics include:

• Ecological contributions of the tree and its associates;
• Cultural connections to regions, people, and history;
• Identification of strengths and weaknesses, assets and liabilities;
• Compartmentalization and response growth, making ‘defects’ stronger than ever;
• time-tested strategies for valuing and managing veteran trees.
• Potential treatments that are practised in other regions, and
• Mitigation Options that comply with international tree care standards.

OUTLINE

• Introduce the topic and the speaker and the participants.
• Review the state of the art and science of mature tree care.
• Review case studies of successes and failures.
• Outdoor activity: Small group inspections of specimens and groves.
• Lunch and discussions.
• Review tree and site conditions noted during morning inspections
• Advanced inspection and demonstration of treatments
• Develop, prioritise and write specifications.
• Wrap up: Questing for consistency.

OUTCOMES

Participants will take away positive experiences of successfully caring for veteran trees. Recent approaches to the management of trees. They will understand

• Basic systems and forensic methods to use for inspections,
• How to get more information directly from the tree ecosystem,
• What pitfalls and perils to look out for,
• How to develop and prioritise clear specifications,
• How to implement a defendable management plan that increases tree value.

By understanding and applying these specialised skills:

• Contractors will gain more valuable work from clients,
• Employees will be more valuable to managers,
• Arborists will get more respect, and
• More veteran trees will get better care.

INDUSTRY BENEFITS

People who attend this workshop and apply some of what they have seen will work all over the province of Queensland. They will see opportunities for their new skills to exert a positive outcome, wherever there are trees of high value. Objectives will be clarified and specifications clear and to the point — maximising tree health, safety, and longevity. People they interact with along the way will see big old trees not as liabilities but as the assets they are.

The purpose of the course is directly parallel with the interests of the industry. If the management of mature trees is simplified, their benefits and contributions will shine through. Public perception of trees and everyone in the tree care industry will improve. As the value of veteran trees is more widely appreciated, the value in veteran tree managers and arborists with those special skills goes up as well.