ISA HK/China --- Linking up with Tree Climbing Japan

To: Dr. John Gathright ， Hara San, Morita San & Kawajiri San,
Tree Climbing Japan,
Japan


Dear John & Tree Doctor Friends of Japan,

皆さん、今日は。 こネは ISA HK/China と もう します。 どぞ、よろしく、お願いします。

It has been such a pleasure & honour to have met you all at the 2007 ISA International Conference in Hawaii. Your website of

www.treeclimbingjapan.org

is well known to us in HK. We have also learned something about the prestigious Japan Tree Doctors System in

http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia24/en/feature/feature08.html

before coming to Hawaii & we have great respect for the Japanese Tree Doctors both as a scientist & artist combined. When a Japanese Tree Doctor has also mastered Tree Climbing, is there anything that can challenge it in Tree Care?

Down here in ISA HK/China where we administer ISA development for the region of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China, we are at a beginner's stage in modern arboriculture. Whereas international arboriculture has already finely branched into Commercial, Municipal, Utility, R & D, & Tree Climbing, some of us here are still debating wither horticulture is part of landscape design or vice versa. Tree abuses happen commonly all over our territory & old masters would fend off modern practices.

That's why we are seeking help everywhere to upgrade ourselves.

In reality, ISA arboriculture & the Japan Tree Doctors System do not conflict with each other like Herbal Medicine (漢藥) & Western Medicine (洋藥). If any Japan Tree Doctor can become an ISA Certified Arborist (CA) as well, he will be riding on top of the world. I personally do not see any domination of one system over another as some Japanese Tree Doctors would worry, & more communication between both sides will certainly promote better understanding.

We in HK have a long association with Japanese culture for decades already. HK is only 3.5 hours flight away from Tokyo & we may have more Japanese people living in HK today than HK people living in Tokyo. Japanese TV is on show 24 hours a day & 80% of our cars are made in Japan. HK people have good respect towards Japanese culture & would ask our brothers & sisters in China to learn manners, hygiene, public order, self-discipline & law abiding spirit from Japan. The Japanese language is the 2nd most popular foreign language in HK besides English. I myself have learned it in evening classes at Chinese University for 7 years & I can read a Japanese Newspaper reasonably well today.

ISA HK/China currently is the closest location to practise ISA arboriculture from Japan & we also organize ISA CA exam in English every April & October. We do not provide advanced training at present because we are short of personnel & expertise in HK. We rely on the Centre of Urban Greenery & Ecology (CUGE, www.cuge.com.sg) in Singapore to provide us such training. CUGE can also administer ISA exams several times a year more often than we do. If any of you would like to develop yourselves in this area of practice, you are most welcome to contact CUGE who are very friendly people.

ISA HK/China produces a weekly Station Mail on local tree affairs & ISA activities in our region. Our Station Mail now circulates free of charge to HK, Macau, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand & USA. I am enclosing a typical Station Mail for your interesting reading. If Tree Climbing Japan would like to be included in our circulation list, please just kindly advise.

On the proposed Study Tour of ISA HK/China to Japan to visit your beautiful landscape & Tree Climbing, we are thinking of either matching the time of Cherry Blossom in April or Red Maple Season in September. We shall discuss this more among our Station Members & liaise with Tree Climbing Japan in future.

We have one small request to ask from Tree Climbing Japan if at all possible. We are particularly interested in your research in the Therapeutic Values of Tree Climbing to the handicapped & mentally disordered patients. If you have any research material in English that can be passed to us, we would like to send it to our Medical Associations for their further studies. We also hope some of their Medical Doctors can even set up Tree Climbing HK for which ISA HK/China will be pleased to provide every assistance. The values of Recreational Tree Climbing now has become recognized by your great Prime Minister & the Japanese Govt. ISA HK/China would like to learn & develop this aspect with Tree Climbing Japan in our region.

It has been a pleasure to have met all of you in Hawaii & we certainly hope ISA HK/China can strengthen relationship with Tree Climbing Japan in future for the benefit of both society.

In your reply to us, you can use either English or Japanese, or a combination of both. If I am stuck, I shall consult the dictionary.

今、また。失礼 します。

With warmest regards,

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