Thursday, February 5, 2009

ISA HK/China --- 2009 Research in 'Managing Trees in Construction' Part 1




*** 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 the latest research from ISA on 'Managing Trees in Construction' which is an all relevant topic in our territory & has caused adequate friction between various factions of our society with Govt & Private Developers when it comes to Tree Preservation on site.

The article has clearly pointed out that not every tree is worth saving in a construction site & priorities must be given to preserve only those trees which can become an asset instead of a liability after the development. It has also pointed out that an experienced Arborist well versed in the science of Tree Preservation, should be appointed to be part of the team from the design stage onward all the way to development completion, to ensure the right trees are to be retained, protected & maintained properly throughout. We wonder how often this process is being observed in our development at present.

Trees appeared to be preserved out of sentimental value for many a times in our territory, & we have frequently seen over-mature trees topped like Lamp Posts for fitting onto lorry transport for relocation, usually without question being asked how they would perform in future after the transplantation. In line with current Tree Preservation Policies in HK, any plant with a DBH over 95mm at 1.3m above ground would be classified as a 'Tree' regardless of species, & therefore certain sized bananas, bamboos & palms have all been relocated in this rigid manner without much consideration to the value of retention, & sometimes relying on the contractor's skills to survive this species upon transplant. Many curses have been reported to ISA HK/China from our Contractor Staton Members for this practice.


The 'Compensatory Planting' in HK is also currently set at a 1 : 1 ratio without much regard to whether the size of the planting area upon completion could really hold up the 'Compensated' planting for healthy & sustainable growth. All these practices do not appear to be in line with international trends but appeared to be acceptable to our general public. Heavy funds have also been devoted maybe in vain in this manner to retain trees of questionable nature without public scepticism & in the name of Greenery Protection. It is known to ISA HK/China that China landscapers at present would not do the same in their Tree Retention Policies, nevermind our good neighbour Singapore.

If HK would discard the pigeon-hole housing environment for our residents from the 1970's to the healthy & comfortable density at present, would our Govt & Developers do the same for our tree planting? Or is it the more the better for our trees as a comparison to advanced nations, disrespecting the need for above-ground & underground development of a tree? Are our public funds justified to save common bananas, bamboos & palms, or trees with low survival rate with poor wind-resisting structure only for possible future removal or replacement in a storm? Are we really taking our tree planting seriously to compare with advanced nation, or even China?

It appears that we may have a lot of questions for ourselves in our process of Greenery Protection.

Meanwhile, enjoy the attached research.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

"Trees are good for the community. Trees need care like human beings. Arborists are the Tree Care Professionals."


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

ISA HK/China --- China Tree News (Tree Climbing at CSGF)




*** 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 newspaper cutting from a national press in China has given ISA Tree Climbing for the first time in a report to its +10,000,000 readers in Landscape Bureaus, research institutes, academics, consultants, contractors & nurserymen in China alike. ISA HK/China is now officially entering the China greenery industry as a recognized institute in its description.

Traditionally, Tree Climbing in China is regarded to be something belonging to the young & brave, & is usually done without PPE or recognized equipment but rather with a ladder & perhaps bare hand. In the past 10 years since elevated platform had been introduced from street lighting repair to roadside tree pruning, trees were hacked with Topping under an imaginary lines as an acceptable practice. Nearly all trees are still topped in this manner anywhere in China, & Crown Thinning or Crown Restoration are something unheard of in China greenery today.

The photo so attached has shown our Deputy Station Manager Tony Ng wearing full PPE with a chainsaw to demonstrate a limb removal in the proper manner at the CSGF in China last December. The Station Manager was quietly asked several times about the age of Tony & when told, the audience there were shocked to learn of someone not belonging to his 20's or 30's could climb a tree with full gears to carry out pruning on rope. Some were commenting whether Tony had taken steroids in order to fight height & strength before the climb.

ISA HK/China can see Tree Climbing to develop healthily in China with the oriental physique having a good ratio of muscular strength to body weight, which is to be regarded as an advantage in the strenuous ascent process. Wenda Li of the Florida Chapter who was originally from HK had won the Women's Master Challenge in ITCC in 2004, & is still an active tree climber today. Our KW Lee has won the Head to Head Footlock among Commonwealth climbers in Brisbane in May 2008 in the Asia Pacific ISA Tree Climbing Competition. Tree Climbing should have a great future in our territory indeed.

Whereas western tree climbers would consider retiring from professional tree work at the age of 35, some of our local tree climbers would begin to learn Tree Climbing at the age of +40 onwards. Many are still active tree climbers into their +50 for pleasure & work today. Tree Climbing classes of TCHK (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) have taken on students of all age & background for a year already & it is growing with enthusiasm among the public.

ISA HK/China will carry on to promote proper tree climbing to be an important element in carrying out quality Tree Work in our territory, since a lot of Structural Pruning simply can not be carried out by elevated platform alone. Elevated platform has its limitation in carrying out work inside the canopy for limb selection, which is best to be carried out by skilful Tree Climbers. On the other hand, ISA HK/China would vigorously introduce the ISA Certified Tree Worker (Climber Specialist) credential into China since the exam can be taken in Chinese, as a head start to develop ISA Arboriculture in China.

Happy Tree Climbing to you all.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

"Trees are good for the community. Trees need care like human beings. Arborists are the Tree Care Professionals."