ISA HK/China on on Blog

Dear All,

ISA HK/China Station now goes on Blog, as suggested by one of our Station Members.

What is ISA HK/China Station? We are an Associated Organization of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA, www.isa-arbor.com ) which is the largest & oldest arboricultural organization in the world. It was set up in 1924, way before most major landscape institutes in the world began.

Then what is arboriculture? Arboriculture is the study of tree care. Tree Care would mean the selection, installation, maintenance & inspection of trees anywhere on this planet. Proper tree care is important, because fallen trees can kill & damage properties, causing chaos in traffic & disturbance in social living.

What are the domains of ISA HK/China? Our designated territory includes Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan & Mainland China. Other regions in the world have their own ISA Chapters or groups. In HK/China, we call ourselves a Station.

What is the organization of ISA HK/China Station? We exist only on web. Why? Because we have no running cost & we feel it safer this way to avoid legal challenges & administration. We have been in existence this way for 2.5 years since Feb 2005 already. So far, so good.

What are our Membership? By July 2007, we have over 370 Station Members from all walks of life. About 1/3 are from the Civil Services, the others from Universities, NGO's, Botanic Gardens, Consultants, Contractors & public. Over 70% of our Station Members are Degree Holders, & approx. 60% have Master Degree of one kind or another. Station Membership is never disclosed publicly as a rule. Only the Station Manager holds the Station Membership alone, no others. Anyone is welcomed to join our Station all free of cost & liabilities. Withdrawal is at an e-mail notice, although never happened. Correspondence is by international English only. We produce a weekly Station Mail on local tree affairs & ISA activities which is circulated to HK, Macau, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand & USA at present.

What are our duties in HK/China? As an ISA organization in our region, we conduct Certified Arborist exam, training, seminars, overseas conferences, tree climbing, & anything relating to tree affairs. We conduct ISA exams every April & October in HK with announcement in our Station Mail.

What are the Station Motto? ISA HK/China believes in Integrity, Professionalism & Participation into our community, with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling. Arborists are unique in their training & attitude. We are tree care professionals & are not common landscapers. We are the genuine tree experts.

For more information, please contact us at egc@netvigator.com . Remember, we are in HK/China for 2.5 years already, although this is the first time we go on Blog.

rgds,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
ISA Chief Proctor for the HK/China Region
ISA Certified Arborist/Certified Tree Climber no. ML-0174AT
Independent Tree Specialist to the HKSAR Govt
Lecturer of Tree Supervision at CITA
International Tree Failure Database Coordinator