Our weekly 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. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/ , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***
Dear Station Members,
Attached is yet another case of Chainsaw Accident not widely reported by our media community, even though Chainsaw is one of the most dangerous tools used in tree work anywhere in the world.
Two tree workers were removing a Fishtail Palm with a Chainsaw but were hit by the re-bounce of the trunk which caused injury to their head & face. Luckily the damage was minor & both workers did not require hospitalization.
Chainsaw Use & Safety, like proper Tree Climbing, is one important subject which is rarely available publicly in greenery institutes & classes in our territory besides within Govt Depts. Yet most of the time tree work is done by contractors in our territory . Chainsaw knowledge & Tree Climbing appear to be exclusive to Arborists & not available in the common teaching of landscape design & horticulture. After all, it would be rather an excessive effort to prune a rose with a chainsaw or climb a camellia for any treatment. And Chainsaw isn't much of an appearance in landscape design. But for the Arborist, it is a day-in day-out job required by some for a living.
It is sad that Chainsaw Accidents keep on happening in our territory & the many so-called ' Safety Training ' does not cover this popular tool for work sites. There are public classes on ' Gardening Safety ' given by many institutes, but hardly any for Chainsaw Use or Tree Climbing. Is it becasue that we do not have enough qualified tutors for the training? Or is it that Chainsaw is a less dangerous tool?
Anyone who wishes to learn more about Chainsaw Accident is welcomed to browse:
1. http://www.whscc.nb.ca/docs/Chainsaw.pdf
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3534320.stm
3. http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/kidz/gore/kickback.shtml
4. http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1484363/01142004/nugent_ted.jhtml
5. http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080129093317AATeJzg
This Station has more if anyone desires.
TCHK will offer a free 3 hour Chainsaw Safety seminar with demonstration exclusive to TCHK Members in the coming month, with announcement on TCHK Blog (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) very soon, since all TCHK Members have signed a Disclaimer to join TCHK. TCHK will also organize Tree Climbing & Chainsaw Training open to public in the near future, targeting mainly tree workers & contractors to upgrade their knowledge & to prevent accident.
Please stay close at TCHK Blog for announcement.
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (http://www.isa-arbor.com/)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
ISA HK/China --- Public Hearing for Proctorship Nomination
Dear Station Members,
As you all know, ISA HK/China Station is responsible for conducting ISA exams in our territory of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China. This is a vast territory, although ISA exams are only popular in the past 3 years & HK is currently the only exam centre in our region. We expect the exams to grow & very soon candidates from other cities in our region will come down to take the exams in HK, since HK has the exam security & facilities demanded for the requirement.
In order to do this, our Station will need to expand on the Proctor crew. ISA Proctors are required to hold a higher standing in Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling. Proctors belong to a different breed & they are respected & trusted in the ISA community. It is always an honour & privilege to become an ISA Proctor.
In our region of HK/China, we have devised a system to screen our Proctors by nomination by the Station Manager & then they have to go through a public hearing over communication within our Station Membership. The Station Manager is the key person in liaison with day-today running of the Station & gathers information on every Station Member including their personal quality. Yet his nominations have to pass through public acknowledgement to ascertain the social acceptance of the proposed Proctors to ensure no advice is slipped. ISA HK/China demands our Proctors to be of excellent quality & second fiddle is best left for somewhere else.
Upon careful observation & contemplation in the past 3 years, the Station Manager now would like to nominate the following Lady & Gentlemen to become ISA Proctors:
1. Kathy Ng --- Senior Landscape Architect at CEDD & is a person known to have good integrity & justice. Kathy is well versed with the landscape trade both in office & on site. She is energetic & respected by practically anybody in the landscape industry. Kathy is knowledgeable in modern arboriculture & is enthusiastic in encouraging our Govt to conduct proper tree care to help our community. Kathy is a CA & is a member of the prestigious CA Family.
2. Thomas CY Chow --- Senior Teacher at the now famous Fung Kai School. Our Station is always grateful for Thomas's past efforts to arrange exam venue for the CA & CTW exams. Thomas is also the Leader of the Fung Kai Tree Climbing Team & has participated in many public climbing events. He is enthusiastic to develop tree climbing for our next generation. Thomas is a CA, a member of the CA Family & is now also a CTW Evaluator.
3. Tony CH Ng --- Tony has over 20 years of tree climbing experience & is among one of the best climbers in our community. He has received arbor training in the UK & is knowledgeable in the art & skill of tree climbing. Tony works at the Tree Team of LCSD & is keen to participate in Station activities including training our next generation of climbers. Tony is a dedicated Buddhist committed to simple living, & with a kind heart to help others in our community. Tony is a CA, a CA Family Member & is also now a CTW Evaluator.
4. KM Li --- KM is one of the fittest local tree climbers known in our community. He is also a swimming instructor, a physical training instructor & a rock climbing instructor. KM has climbed for 20 years & is knowledgeable in the many techniques & equipment in tree climbing. He is active in Station activities & is keen to help our younger generation to climb. KM is a straight-minded, very physical & enthusiastic person. He is a CA, a CA Family Member & a CTW Evaluator.
These 4 Lady & Gentlemen will be nominated to ISA HQ to become Proctor in our region very soon, if this Station does not hear any adverse comment on any of them by 5pm Feb 10, 2008. On the other hand, if any of you would like to advise the Station Manager on something that he does not know about the above candidates, you are welcomed to phone 9090 6719 or e-mail him in confidence for second consideration. All communication will be treated in the strictest confidence with the integrity of the Station Manager not to disclose to a third party.
Thank you for your consideration & we look forward to work with our future Proctors in a team to develop ISA Arboriculture in our region soonest.
best regards,
Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
ISA Chief Proctor in the HK/China Region
As you all know, ISA HK/China Station is responsible for conducting ISA exams in our territory of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China. This is a vast territory, although ISA exams are only popular in the past 3 years & HK is currently the only exam centre in our region. We expect the exams to grow & very soon candidates from other cities in our region will come down to take the exams in HK, since HK has the exam security & facilities demanded for the requirement.
In order to do this, our Station will need to expand on the Proctor crew. ISA Proctors are required to hold a higher standing in Integrity, Professionalism & Participation with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling. Proctors belong to a different breed & they are respected & trusted in the ISA community. It is always an honour & privilege to become an ISA Proctor.
In our region of HK/China, we have devised a system to screen our Proctors by nomination by the Station Manager & then they have to go through a public hearing over communication within our Station Membership. The Station Manager is the key person in liaison with day-today running of the Station & gathers information on every Station Member including their personal quality. Yet his nominations have to pass through public acknowledgement to ascertain the social acceptance of the proposed Proctors to ensure no advice is slipped. ISA HK/China demands our Proctors to be of excellent quality & second fiddle is best left for somewhere else.
Upon careful observation & contemplation in the past 3 years, the Station Manager now would like to nominate the following Lady & Gentlemen to become ISA Proctors:
1. Kathy Ng --- Senior Landscape Architect at CEDD & is a person known to have good integrity & justice. Kathy is well versed with the landscape trade both in office & on site. She is energetic & respected by practically anybody in the landscape industry. Kathy is knowledgeable in modern arboriculture & is enthusiastic in encouraging our Govt to conduct proper tree care to help our community. Kathy is a CA & is a member of the prestigious CA Family.
2. Thomas CY Chow --- Senior Teacher at the now famous Fung Kai School. Our Station is always grateful for Thomas's past efforts to arrange exam venue for the CA & CTW exams. Thomas is also the Leader of the Fung Kai Tree Climbing Team & has participated in many public climbing events. He is enthusiastic to develop tree climbing for our next generation. Thomas is a CA, a member of the CA Family & is now also a CTW Evaluator.
3. Tony CH Ng --- Tony has over 20 years of tree climbing experience & is among one of the best climbers in our community. He has received arbor training in the UK & is knowledgeable in the art & skill of tree climbing. Tony works at the Tree Team of LCSD & is keen to participate in Station activities including training our next generation of climbers. Tony is a dedicated Buddhist committed to simple living, & with a kind heart to help others in our community. Tony is a CA, a CA Family Member & is also now a CTW Evaluator.
4. KM Li --- KM is one of the fittest local tree climbers known in our community. He is also a swimming instructor, a physical training instructor & a rock climbing instructor. KM has climbed for 20 years & is knowledgeable in the many techniques & equipment in tree climbing. He is active in Station activities & is keen to help our younger generation to climb. KM is a straight-minded, very physical & enthusiastic person. He is a CA, a CA Family Member & a CTW Evaluator.
These 4 Lady & Gentlemen will be nominated to ISA HQ to become Proctor in our region very soon, if this Station does not hear any adverse comment on any of them by 5pm Feb 10, 2008. On the other hand, if any of you would like to advise the Station Manager on something that he does not know about the above candidates, you are welcomed to phone 9090 6719 or e-mail him in confidence for second consideration. All communication will be treated in the strictest confidence with the integrity of the Station Manager not to disclose to a third party.
Thank you for your consideration & we look forward to work with our future Proctors in a team to develop ISA Arboriculture in our region soonest.
best regards,
Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
ISA Chief Proctor in the HK/China Region
Sunday, January 27, 2008
ISA HK/China --- Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
*** Our weekly 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. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***
Dear Station Members,
The attached article is extracted from the Arborist News Dec 2007 edition. Conventional landscape managers & horticulturists may not like the information contained but this article was written by a professor in an US institute after years of research. It was also published in an international journal circulated to at least 57 countries around the world. So, there must be something to it.
Pest Management is an important job of landscape maintenance anywhere in the world. After all, landscape is created for aesthetic & pleasure besides a varieties of functions. If ruined by pests, all the money devoted into it would be in vain. This article gave an insight to the current international practice in pest management as compared to what we are used to in our part of the world. It also gave reasons & suggestions for what to do & what not to do.
When the Station Manager first started learning about pest management (or better calling it pest control then) in the 1980's, he studied it through conventional horticulture describing blanket chemical spray & pest eradication. The only objective of these measures appeared to be killing every pest suspected without thinking too much of non-targeting organisms, or maybe it was simply bad luck to any of them. Time & care were set at making the best possible chemical solution to target the organisms. Preventive & regular spray were the answer to a 'clean & hygienic' growing environment, whether inside or outside a greenhouse. Any kill would be regarded as a success & a reward.
Deviation from this traditional practice has evolved from research over the years in the west. It was discovered that a complete eradication of all organisms would lead to a stronger (or even more resistant) outbreak of pest emergence after regular spraying which would also pollute the environment. Measures were then looked into the holistic approach & it would be the suppression of the pest population rather than total eradication, coupling with a study on abiotic effects & client's expectation to evolve the theory of Plant Health Care (PHC) which incorporates the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept for managing landscape pests. It was also discovered that any treatment should be entire rather than individual, since the mixture of plants interact with one another in the landscape.
This new theory of PHC & IPM has since then become popular in western countries. However, the wind of change did not seem to come across strongly to our part of the world. Blanket spray & intentional chemical mixtures still appear to be the answer to pest management in our city landscape, partly becasue it is easier to administer & less training is required for the operating personnel. Then when our pest problem would become more resistant to treatment, the landscape managers would look for a stronger & more powerful spray. Hence the vicious cycle continues.
This Station is not aware of PHC or IPM being practised in a working level anywhere in our territory so far, except at ETF which is under the control of the Station Manager himself. Both PHC & IPM require knowledge & experience to carry out, not just theories & description from books. This Station is not aware of either knowledge is being offered properly & publicly anywhere in any institute in HK so far.
Modern Arboriculture is founded on the principles of PHC. If PHC is not good enough for HK, then western countries may be wasting their time to research into the topic to tell the world. Then maybe HK should carry on their regular chemical spray intentionally.
Which way should we look at now then & for why ...?
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (www.isa-arbor.com)
Dear Station Members,
The attached article is extracted from the Arborist News Dec 2007 edition. Conventional landscape managers & horticulturists may not like the information contained but this article was written by a professor in an US institute after years of research. It was also published in an international journal circulated to at least 57 countries around the world. So, there must be something to it.
Pest Management is an important job of landscape maintenance anywhere in the world. After all, landscape is created for aesthetic & pleasure besides a varieties of functions. If ruined by pests, all the money devoted into it would be in vain. This article gave an insight to the current international practice in pest management as compared to what we are used to in our part of the world. It also gave reasons & suggestions for what to do & what not to do.
When the Station Manager first started learning about pest management (or better calling it pest control then) in the 1980's, he studied it through conventional horticulture describing blanket chemical spray & pest eradication. The only objective of these measures appeared to be killing every pest suspected without thinking too much of non-targeting organisms, or maybe it was simply bad luck to any of them. Time & care were set at making the best possible chemical solution to target the organisms. Preventive & regular spray were the answer to a 'clean & hygienic' growing environment, whether inside or outside a greenhouse. Any kill would be regarded as a success & a reward.
Deviation from this traditional practice has evolved from research over the years in the west. It was discovered that a complete eradication of all organisms would lead to a stronger (or even more resistant) outbreak of pest emergence after regular spraying which would also pollute the environment. Measures were then looked into the holistic approach & it would be the suppression of the pest population rather than total eradication, coupling with a study on abiotic effects & client's expectation to evolve the theory of Plant Health Care (PHC) which incorporates the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept for managing landscape pests. It was also discovered that any treatment should be entire rather than individual, since the mixture of plants interact with one another in the landscape.
This new theory of PHC & IPM has since then become popular in western countries. However, the wind of change did not seem to come across strongly to our part of the world. Blanket spray & intentional chemical mixtures still appear to be the answer to pest management in our city landscape, partly becasue it is easier to administer & less training is required for the operating personnel. Then when our pest problem would become more resistant to treatment, the landscape managers would look for a stronger & more powerful spray. Hence the vicious cycle continues.
This Station is not aware of PHC or IPM being practised in a working level anywhere in our territory so far, except at ETF which is under the control of the Station Manager himself. Both PHC & IPM require knowledge & experience to carry out, not just theories & description from books. This Station is not aware of either knowledge is being offered properly & publicly anywhere in any institute in HK so far.
Modern Arboriculture is founded on the principles of PHC. If PHC is not good enough for HK, then western countries may be wasting their time to research into the topic to tell the world. Then maybe HK should carry on their regular chemical spray intentionally.
Which way should we look at now then & for why ...?
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (www.isa-arbor.com)
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