ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Training Tree Assessors)

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Dear Station Members,

The attached news below gave comments on the training of Tree Assessors in HK.

It is apparent that after the Tree Management Office (TMO) in HK was set up in March this year, Tree Assessment has become a hot topic in town. Many ad hoc training programs have suddenly sprung up, & some of the trainers are not even experienced Arborists. Training courses are offered like fast-food service to produce instant "Tree Assessors" sometimes in just a day or two. Academic qualification is seen to be the main requirement to become "qualified" Tree Assessors. Then the media began to question of the quality of our "Tree Assessors" after continuous Tree Failure in recent weeks.

Tree Assessment is one of the highest skills in Practicing Arboriculture, & qualified Tree Assessors must have worked for years in the field, not talking in the classroom. Many famous Tree Assessors including Matheny & Clark, Prof Harris, Prof Gilman & Dr. Thomas Smiley, also do not possess a degree in Arboriculture. In fact, hardly any experienced Consulting Arborists around the world comes with a degree in Arboriculture. As for related discipline, maybe Horticulture is the only subject generally accepted as close, although Horticulture would focus more on smaller plants than trees. Practical experience & constantly catching up with research, rather than brandishing academic qualification, are seen to be the key to becoming a successful Tree Assessor.

One can compare training a Tree Assessor to a Lifeguard. You can not train a Lifeguard in a classroom talking & then just a lesson or two in the pool, for someone who has never swum before. Worst if the Trainers themselves have only just managed swimming. In Arboriculture, we say: Mother nature makes the Rules, not any of us. If we produce fast-food Tree Assessors, we may get wanton Tree Assessment as a result.

The Station Manager (SM) himself have assessed thousands of trees in our territory (6,000+ no. in 2010 alone) with high accuracy in past years. Some of his famous work includes the Erythrina in Sai Wan Terrace which collapsed after 5 days of his warning, the Ficus in Rhenish Church in Bonham Road which he predicted to fail had collapsed to injure 3 persons a year later, & the Maryknoll Ghost Pine which he alone stood against everyone else to predict hazards. The SM has stood up in Courts many times as Expert Witness in Tree Disputes & has not yet lost a case. The SM does not possess a degree in Arboriculture, but in engineering.

Being the first Certified Arborist (CA) & first Certified Tree Worker (CTW) in our territory, & the only Coordinator of the International Tree Failure Database in the HK & China Region, the SM has always regarded updating himself in research in Tree Biology, Wood Properties & Wind Mechanics, to be the key to conduct accurate Tree Assessment. Expert knowledge in these fields is important. The CA credential should be taken as a post-graduate credential to recognize a 3 year full-time Tree Work experience in pruning, fertilization, installation and establishment, diagnosis and treatment of tree problems, cabling and bracing and climbing. It does not make you an instant Tree Assessor to professional requirements.

ISA HK/China will establish the Qualified Arborist (QA) credential as a higher level of recognition in Arboriculture in our territory of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China very soon. QA is a local credential to meet our own need in our territory. The QA will pose himself/herself to be a more experienced & knowledgeable Tree Assessor, besides other abilities. Details of the entry requirements will be released very soon.

Our QA credential will prevail in our territory in the coming years. We shall ask our China brothers & sister to follow it as well. We believe the QA will protect the professional image of ISA in our territory.

Please support our QA system to make our trees safer & healthier, one tree & one QA at a time.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

"If a tree is not designed, installed, maintained & inspected properly, it is likely to become a liability rather than an asset."

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

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正視驗樹人員的培訓

2010年9月24日 星期五 05:30

(綜合報道)

全港市區約有七十萬棵樹，至今只有二千多棵列入危樹名單，看來只有小數樹木出現問題，惟十天前才檢查過、又無列入危樹名單的大樹，也會無故塌下，令人關注事件，究竟是太難驗出樹木有毛病，還是驗樹人員不懂檢驗，又或馬虎了事？

　　有樹木專家指出，昨日塌下的大樹樹幹，已被真菌侵蝕至少兩三年，樹壁只餘下幾厘米厚，就如一塊木板厚度，卻要支撐整棵樹，縱無風雨都會隨時倒塌，任何專業驗樹人員都可輕易發現異樣，但當局的驗樹人員本月十三日檢查時，卻未能發現如此嚴重問題，令人質疑驗樹人員經驗及專業知識嚴重不足。

　　樹木辦今年三月成立以來，仍接連發生塌樹意外，當局應重新檢討未能及早發現病樹的原因，正視前線人員的培訓，增加聘用大學專科畢業人士，及對樹木有深入認識的專家，勿再讓塌樹傷人事件一再重演。