ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Tree Failures after Typhoon Pabuk)

*** Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas.***

Dear Station Members,

The mini-typhoon of Pabuk practically came as nothing to feel on Aug 9, 2007 to attack HK. Most of us would feel more rain than any effect on wind really. According to HK Observatory's information, typhoon signal no. 3 of wind between 41 - 62 kmh was hoisted for a mere 8 hours. Even with that, a reported 35 Tree Failures happened all over HK as per the attached newspaper cutting & the following link:

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/070809/60/2dc3i.html

This Station wants to emphasis that the above is the 'reported failures', not including those not reported to Govt authorities. No one would probable know the true figures of Tree Failures all over HK in any typhoon incident because we do not have an agency to collect them.

Matures Trees have now become time bombs in our city particularly in storm & wind. Most of the Tree Failures encountered in our city belong to the Mature Trees category. Mature Trees are all over the place now in streets, parks, housing estates & highways. This would mean tree owners & tree managers would need to be held liable for their trees, if they failed to hit someone or properties causing injuries or damages. Yet how many of them have ever sought the assistance of arborists for inspection, risk management or maintenance? Are arborists not qualified to carry out tree work? Then who is?

In our city, Tree Failures rarely would hit headline in the media. Tree Failures are no attraction as compared to some Mainland Chinese family chopping each other to pieces & throwing their children over the balcony. Trees are dispensable & they are there to abuse. When our city temperature becomes too high, our 'experts' would submit their 'innovation' on 'Roof Top Greening' instead, not planting & caring trees in the proper manner. Some would even encourage us to learn 'proper landscaping' from China. What have we become after 1997 ??

HK's success has been from learning & comparing with the world in the past 150 years. By now, nearly all our Station Members would agree the same when it comes to practising arboriculture as well. ISA is the biggest & most historical arbor organization in the world since 1924. If we do not develop ISA arboriculture in HK like Singapore has done, should learn it from our brothers & sisters up north?

If the trees in HK would improve like in Singapore for all their benefits to be given to our public, maybe our proposed Arboricultural Office is a necessity to achieve this important objective.

Requiring an Arborist Report for any Tree Inspection, Tree Felling, Tree Pruning & Tree Transplantation at the various Govt Depts including the DLO may be the shotest & simplest solution for better tree care at present.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- 'Tree Protection' Work to destroy trees

*** Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas.***

Dear Station Members,

These appalling pictures were sent in by a Station Member on his way to work. Apparently some kind of 'Tree Protection' work was been carried out in accordance with approved design & specifications for existing trees for the enjoyment of the public.

It can be seen that the root zone near the trunk were ringed by an elevated planter wall & the root spreading area seemingly compacted by building materials. It is likely that topsoil will be added into the elevated planter for shrub/groundcover planting to 'beautify' the design. It is probably regarded that the eventual outcome would justify the time & expenses well spent by public funding.

The stone planter wall would weigh around a ton to cut into the radial roots of the existing trees. There may even be some kind of concrete foundation to support the stone planter wall & root cutting may become necessary to accommodate the foundation. If any topsoil is to be added into the inside of the planter for whatever purpose, further root suffocation for the tree & drainage problem may occur, killing the roots under even further.

The dying process may not happen immediately but gradually. Dieback at the canopy would first appear & the trees would gradually lose vigour. Leaves may drop. Pest problem & decay may appear as a secondary attack. Then may come some storm or wind, & the trees or their parts would fell to hit the ground below.

Then some would call it an 'Act of God', never the fault of human intervention.

Poor trees indeed which have no way to protest for all the malpractice & ill-treatment they have received. We human do not appreciate that when trees are in trouble, we are also in trouble. Look at how our city temperature has raised & how air is polluted. Research has shown that a good tree planting community usually lower crime, heal the mind & body faster, & the residents lives in better harmony. Look at Singapore as an example. Good tree planting does have its psychological benefits & it is up to we human to explore them. If more of our public can be attracted to discuss trees instead of universal suffrage, we shall have less social unrest & screaming in our media.

These poor trees may fell to hit someone or something eventually. The designers & tree owners may wake up one day when they were to be invited to face an Expert Witness Arborist in Court for a civil claim. Arborist can prove with research & experience that soil compaction & root suffocation can damage trees. Can the opposite side prove vice versa?

In HK, we always hear our Greenery personnel are busy at work. Is this the kind of work that they are busy at? Are we result-orientated in our attitude towards work any more? Or do we just enjoy heavy work?

And whose money is being spent?

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- Tree Failures Workshop by Prof. Mattheck at CUGE, Singapore

Dear Station Members,

Please kindly find attached a very relevant Tree Failures training course offered by CUGE in Singapore from August 22 - 24, 2007.

The trainer of the course is the world famous Professor Claus Mattheck who has spent years in Tree Failures research & has produced numerous research reports published in Europe & ISA. Professor Mattheck is also an award winner for many tree related events & is well respected in the international arbor community. CUGE has this foresight & connection to invite this VIP over to lead them on Tree Failures, which in reality, would be a more relevant subject to HK/China because of our frequent events over here in typhoons or not.

The Station Manager himself is deeply interested in attending this very important training because he is interested to study Tree Failures over the years, despite from just returning from the Hawaiian Conference. However, he has a CITA lecture to give in the evening of August 22 & needs to look for help in replacement to relieve himself to attend the training.

If anyone would like to attend this important training, please kindly enrol yourself directly with CUGE or contact this Station for further arrangement.

Thank you for your kind attention.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager




----- Original Message -----

From: Iqbal SANJIMAN
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 5:46 PM
Subject: Leaf and Roots Mechanics by Dr Claus Mattheck

Dear Industry Partners,

We're pleased to inform you that the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology(CUGE), NParks will be conducting the above course on 22 - 24 Aug 07. SLICAssociation members will enjoy a 10% discount.

If you're keen to find outmore on tree failure, this is the course to attend. Details are in theattached brochure. Registration will be closed on 15 Aug 07. You'd bepleased to note that ISA Certified Arborists will be attain 19.5 CEUs byattending this workshop!!

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need furtherclarifications. I can also be reached at 91728303.(See attached file: BrochurePublic.pdf)Have a great day!!

Iqbal Sanjiman § Manager (Manpower Development) § National Parks Board §Tel: +65 64719939 § Fax: +65 64723033

Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message. Ifyou are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or use itfor any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. Pleasenotify the sender immediately if you receive this in error. § Check outour website at http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

ISA HK/China --- Tree Failures Workshop by Prof. Mattheck at CUGE, Singapore

Dear Station Members,

Please kindly find attached a very relevant Tree Failures training course offered by CUGE in Singapore from August 22 - 24, 2007.

The trainer of the course is the world famous Professor Claus Mattheck who has spent years in Tree Failures research & has produced numerous research reports published in Europe & ISA. Professor Mattheck is also an award winner for many tree related events & is well respected in the international arbor community. CUGE has this foresight & connection to invite this VIP over to lead them on Tree Failures, which in reality, would be a more relevant subject to HK/China because of our frequent events over here in typhoons or not.

The Station Manager himself is deeply interested in attending this very important training because he is interested to study Tree Failures over the years, despite from just returning from the Hawaiian Conference. However, he has a CITA lecture to give in the evening of August 22 & needs to look for help in replacement to relieve himself to attend the training.

If anyone would like to attend this important training, please kindly enrol yourself directly with CUGE or contact this Station for further arrangement.

Thank you for your kind attention.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager


----- Original Message -----

From: Iqbal SANJIMAN
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 5:46 PM
Subject: Leaf and Roots Mechanics by Dr Claus Mattheck

Dear Industry Partners,

We're pleased to inform you that the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology(CUGE), NParks will be conducting the above course on 22 - 24 Aug 07. SLICAssociation members will enjoy a 10% discount. If you're keen to find outmore on tree failure, this is the course to attend. Details are in theattached brochure. Registration will be closed on 15 Aug 07.

You'd bepleased to note that ISA Certified Arborists will be attain 19.5 CEUs byattending this workshop!!Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need furtherclarifications. I can also be reached at 91728303.(See attached file: BrochurePublic.pdf)Have a great day!!

Iqbal Sanjiman § Manager (Manpower Development) § National Parks Board

§Tel: +65 64719939 § Fax: +65 64723033Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message. Ifyou are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or use itfor any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. Pleasenotify the sender immediately if you receive this in error. § Check outour website at http://www.nparks.gov.sg


Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, NParks is proud to present a three-day workshop entitled “Leaf and Roots Mechanics.” The workshop will provide participants with valuable information on the mechanics of tree failure. This workshop will be conducted by Dr Claus Mattheck, an expert on the mechanics and fracture behaviour of trees and on fatigue fractures of mechanical components.

Details of the programme are as follows:

Workshop Date : 22 Aug to 24 August 2007 (Wed to Fri)
Time : 8 30am – 5.30pm
Venue : Multi-Purpose Hall, Peirce Road Depot
(lunch and tea-breaks will be provided)

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

Day One – 22 Aug 2007
8.30am Registration
9.00am Introduction by Prof. Dr Claus Mattheck
VTA-Elite lecture: Tree Engineering
9.15am Introduction into a spoken mechanics for arborists
Failure modes at trees and at objects around trees
10.30am Tea Break
10.45pm Playground tools around trees
Mechanical aids for trees
How to analyse failures ex post
12.30pm Lunch
1.30pm Limit load analysis better than wind load assessment
Forces of trees introduced in the surrounding
Spectacular new design rules in nature
3.30pm Tea break
3.45pm Understanding the wind
New court cases from Germany
5.00pm End of Day 1

SIGN UP TODAY!

! An insight into tree
mechanics!
! ISA Certified Arborists will
get 19.5 CEUs!!
Leaf and Roots Mechanics
by Dr Claus Mattheck

Day Two - 23 Aug 2007
9.00am New VTA-book and Leaf Mechanics
-leaf mechanics
-wind deformation of leafs
-maximum forces of leafs introduced into the branch
10.30am Tea Break
10.45pm -is there a critical slenderness for branches?
-new ideas on summer branch drop
-measured side support of branches and wrong pruning
12.30pm Lunch
1.30pm -branch pruning and stand thinning in comparison
-limitations of drilling, sounding, pulling diagnosis
3.30pm Tea break
3.45pm -fights about hollow trees
-effects of drilling to trees
-how to simulate biological growth without computer
5.00pm End of Day 2

Day Three – 24 Aug 2007
9.00am Root Mechanics
-how trees anchor in the ground
-the double nature of root plates
-sinker roots as shear killers
10.30am Tea Break
10.45pm -how far grow roots away from trunk?
-lateral pressure of roots and related failures
-reading in cracks of hard cover or buildings
-assessment of loads introduced in pipes and houses
-anchor help for trees
12.30pm Lunch
1.30pm -good stones and bad stones
-high water level and root plate
-new container formulae tailored to the individual trunk size
-is the container formulae good for trenching assessment?
3.30pm Tea break
3.45pm -do trees stabilize or sabotage slopes?
-a new wooden model to illustrate wind throw and soil shear
-root- and branch attachment in comparison
-future of trees in narrow cities
5.00pm End of Day 3

TRAINER PROFILE

Prof. Dr Claus Mattheck is from Germany. He Graduated in Theoretical Physics in
1973, qualified to lecture in Damage Analysis at Karlsruhe University in 1985, and
now lectures on biomechanics as professor. Head of Department of Biomechanics
at the Institute for Materials Research II of the Karlsruhe Research Centre, expert
on the mechanics and fracture behaviour of trees and on fatigue fractures of
mechanical components. Awarded the Science Award of the Industrial Research
Foundation for the computer simulation of biological growth in 1991; the Literature
Award of the Karl Theodor Vogel Foundation for technical journalism in 1992; the Georg Winter
Award of the European Society for Biomaterials in 1993; honorary membership of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Great Britain & Ireland in 1997; the Science Award of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences in 1998 (founded by the Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation); the Chadwick Award of the ISA for arboricultural research in 1998; the Henry Ford European Conservation Award (environment technology); and the Inge & Werner Grüter Award for science journalism in 1999; the 2002 Annual Award of the Arboricultural Association (UK); honorary membership of the Urban Tree Diagnosis Association of Japan in 2003 and the German Environmental Award 2003.

WORKSHOP & ASSESSMENT FEES

Course Fees : S$1,530.10 (inclusive of GST)
Course Fees for SLIC Association Members (10% CUGE Privilege Discount) : $1,377.09*
(*LIAS, SILA, IPR, FAS, Orchid Business Cluster and Golf Clubs Managers' Association)

REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT

Please complete and the enclosed registration form (together with payment) by 15 Aug 2007 to:

Attn : Iqbal Sanjiman
National Parks Board
Industry Division
Singapore Botanic Gardens
1 Cluny Road
Singapore 259569

CANCELLATION

National Parks Board reserves the right to change the workshop venue, cancel or reschedule it if
necessary or warranted by circumstances beyond our control.
There will be no refund of fees for withdrawal. However, if the registered participant is unable to attend a representative may be allowed to attend at no extra cost. Please inform us of the
changes by phone, email or fax 2 working days before the commencement of the workshop.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Mr Iqbal Sanjiman, DID: 64719939, Fax: 64723033, Email: iqbal_sanjiman@nparks.gov.sg
QR-CUGE-01.5
NATIONAL PARKS BOARD

“Let’s make Singapore Our Garden!”

SHORT COURSES / SEMINARS REGISTRATION FORM

Course Title : Leaf and Roots Mechanics (22 - 24 Aug 2007)

To register to attend the programme, please send the completed form and payment to:

Attn : Iqbal Sanjiman,
Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569
Tel: 64719939 Fax: 6472 3033 Email: nparks_cuge@nparks.gov.sg

PERSONAL PROFILE

Name: *Mr / Mrs / Miss
NRIC/ Passport No.: Date of Birth:
Nationality: Singapore PR: * Yes / No
Address:
Professional Qualification : Language Proficiency:
*English/Malay/Mandarin/Tamil
Highest Educational Qualification:
Years of Experience in Industry:
Home No.: Office No.:
Mobile No.: Fax No.:
Personal Email:
COMPANY PROFILE
Company Sponsored * Yes / No Salary: ______________ Job Designation:
Company's Contact Person Company Contact No.________________
Company Name:
Company Address:
Company Email :
Association Membership:
PAYMENT DETAILS
Cheque Details: ______________________ Cheque Amount _________________

Terms and Conditions:
! CUGE reserves the right to cancel the course.
! Full payment should be made at least 5 days before the programme commences. Applicants who do not make
full payment will not be allowed to attend the programme.
! All cheques should be crossed and made payable to "National Parks Board - CUGE".
! There will be no refund of payment once the application is confirmed.
I certify that all information in this Registration Form is true and correct and I have understood all the Terms and
Conditions.
I certify that my company and I have arranged for adequate insurance coverage.
Signature of Applicant Date

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

ISA HK/China --- Regional collaboration with the Philippines in arboriculture

To: Professor Armando Palijon
University of the Philippines Los Banos,
Philippines

Dear Armando,

It was such a pleasure to have met you in Hawaii during the ISA International Conference & have learned that you have positive interest to become an ISA Certified Arborist to develop ISA arboriculture in the Philippines. I understand that there is no ISA Certified Arborist in the Philippines at present. If you later become the first one, your name will be down in history in the Philippines because no one can ever replace you as the first. It will be a great family honour for you indeed.

We ISA HK/China would like to provide our support to you if you would ever need it, because we are only 2.5 years older than you are & are equally developing ourselves from scratch. The successful experience in our territory can help you as a developing nation to overcome obstacles like we have had.

It is nice to learn that in the Philippines, you are having foresters acting as arborists to advise on tree affairs at present. As you become more involved in arboriculture, you may find that the two disciplines differ in many ways from nursery stocks to maintenance, & forest tress usually have lower human targets as compared to urban trees. Forest trees would also grow in groups whereas urban trees usually grow as individuals. The growing condition for both are rather different from each other & treatment would also deviate accordingly.

I have already placed you into the circulation list of our weekly Station Mail on local tree affairs & ISA activities in the HK/China Region. You may wish to circulate it within the Philippines at your pleasure to anybody interested. Our Station Mail has given up copyright & is written with ISA principles on tree care & education. It is currently distributed to HK, Macau, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand & USA for their onward circulation, usually by 'bcc' to protect privacy.

As I have mentioned to you in Hawaii, ISA HK/China conducts Certified Arborist exam twice a year in HK, usually once in April & another in October. Our Filipino friends are welcomed to come to sit for the exam & ISA HK/China will assist all of you in finding accommodation. HK is only 1.5 hours flight from Manila & the air fare by Cebu Airlines now can be as low as US$100.00 per trip. There are currently over 150,000 Filipino workers living in our tiny city of HK. I'm sure none of you will become lonely upon arrival.

HK & Philippines have a long-standing relationship for centuries & HK is the closest ISA organization to the Philippines at present. Although HK is nowhere advanced in tree care when compared to Australia or Singapore, we tend to be in a similar position like the Philippines in our arboricultural development & we can be a poor man's choice for reference if you would ever require our service. The proximity & common language will help us bond each other more easily.

Shortly after this message, I shall send you a packet of selected Station Mail to help you understand some of our past happening. They are quite sizeable but educational, & we hope you may find use in them during your spare time.

Thank you for making friend with us & please do not hesitate to contact us for anything of help to you. Together we work, we can make our territory a better place to live, one tree at a time.

best regards,

Sammy Au
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