*** 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,
Our team of Station Manager, Deputy Station Managers & key Station Members have just returned from IPM China 2008 & what a shock we have given to the Chinese !!
Some facts would give tell-tale:
Out of the 500 name cards that the Station Manger brought with him to IPM, only 43 were left after 3 days. The seminar on International Tree Standards & ISA was jam packed with over 100 audience. The Station Manager was regretting that he did not bring along a pair of sun glasses to stop the flash glares from cameras. The Station Manger was interviewed at least 10 times by various China newspapers & was chased after for power point & lecture materials by various professionals. There were too many visitors wanting to join the trial climb at the Tree Climbing demonstration that the organizer called up the Station Manger to cut short to avoid chaos. The tree climbing videos we showed have stunned everybody that some were asking what camera tricks we have put in to make it look so realistic.
There were many other events & behaviours unseen in western trade shows & the above are only the typical for us.
The FAQ at the show appeared to be:
1. How much do I need to pay to 'obtain' the ISA credentials like the Chinese equivalents? Do you run 'Package Training' to guarantee my success? I must make sure that it is money worth.
2. What is Arboriculture & ISA? If ISA is 84 years old, how come we have never heard of it in China over the years?
3. Why don't ISA translate all their information into Chinese so that we can understand?
4. Can we not use a lifting platform to do Tree Work instead of Tree Climbing & Rigging?
5. Our local Govt will be happy to work with ISA HK/China to develop ISA Arboriculture in China. We can see a great future for ISA credentials in China. However, you must first 'certify' some of our officials (apparently without testing) so that they can be seen as leaders to gain support from senior levels & public. This will also help our funding application. Can you do that?
6. What's wrong with our current practice? We have been doing it for years. China has different trees from the rest of the world & is the 'Mother of Landscaping' with our diversified species. Don't you agree?
Along with other enquiries, we have thrown in a bottle of coca-cola into China during the Cultural Revolution written in Chinese.
We can feel now that our brothers & sisters have picked their ears on us this round. The have heard talks as powerful as Rev Billy Graham at the seminars, & have seen equipment & techniques never imagined before. The Land of Old Dragons will try to maintain a sceptical attitude, but for how long?
Our next bomb into China will be the CSGF in Dec 26 - 28 in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. This will be a trade show attended by Landscape Bureaus, Contractors, Nurserymen & Designers. We shall give more seminars, Tree Climbing demonstration & Rigging practice. This time we shall also fell a 12m tall x 0.8m DBH dead Celtis in front of public eyes within the show compound.
ISA HK/China has punched a hole into the Bamboo Curtain in the Land of Old Dragons with our eloquence & flexibility. Very soon, the torrent of ISA Arboriculture will burst in at no time.
May the Good Lord give us strength.
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
"Trees are good for the community. Trees need care like human beings. Arborists are the Tree Care Professionals."
Dear Station Members,
Our team of Station Manager, Deputy Station Managers & key Station Members have just returned from IPM China 2008 & what a shock we have given to the Chinese !!
Some facts would give tell-tale:
Out of the 500 name cards that the Station Manger brought with him to IPM, only 43 were left after 3 days. The seminar on International Tree Standards & ISA was jam packed with over 100 audience. The Station Manager was regretting that he did not bring along a pair of sun glasses to stop the flash glares from cameras. The Station Manger was interviewed at least 10 times by various China newspapers & was chased after for power point & lecture materials by various professionals. There were too many visitors wanting to join the trial climb at the Tree Climbing demonstration that the organizer called up the Station Manger to cut short to avoid chaos. The tree climbing videos we showed have stunned everybody that some were asking what camera tricks we have put in to make it look so realistic.
There were many other events & behaviours unseen in western trade shows & the above are only the typical for us.
The FAQ at the show appeared to be:
1. How much do I need to pay to 'obtain' the ISA credentials like the Chinese equivalents? Do you run 'Package Training' to guarantee my success? I must make sure that it is money worth.
2. What is Arboriculture & ISA? If ISA is 84 years old, how come we have never heard of it in China over the years?
3. Why don't ISA translate all their information into Chinese so that we can understand?
4. Can we not use a lifting platform to do Tree Work instead of Tree Climbing & Rigging?
5. Our local Govt will be happy to work with ISA HK/China to develop ISA Arboriculture in China. We can see a great future for ISA credentials in China. However, you must first 'certify' some of our officials (apparently without testing) so that they can be seen as leaders to gain support from senior levels & public. This will also help our funding application. Can you do that?
6. What's wrong with our current practice? We have been doing it for years. China has different trees from the rest of the world & is the 'Mother of Landscaping' with our diversified species. Don't you agree?
Along with other enquiries, we have thrown in a bottle of coca-cola into China during the Cultural Revolution written in Chinese.
We can feel now that our brothers & sisters have picked their ears on us this round. The have heard talks as powerful as Rev Billy Graham at the seminars, & have seen equipment & techniques never imagined before. The Land of Old Dragons will try to maintain a sceptical attitude, but for how long?
Our next bomb into China will be the CSGF in Dec 26 - 28 in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. This will be a trade show attended by Landscape Bureaus, Contractors, Nurserymen & Designers. We shall give more seminars, Tree Climbing demonstration & Rigging practice. This time we shall also fell a 12m tall x 0.8m DBH dead Celtis in front of public eyes within the show compound.
ISA HK/China has punched a hole into the Bamboo Curtain in the Land of Old Dragons with our eloquence & flexibility. Very soon, the torrent of ISA Arboriculture will burst in at no time.
May the Good Lord give us strength.
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
"Trees are good for the community. Trees need care like human beings. Arborists are the Tree Care Professionals."
