Dear Station Members,
Below is a recent report on Ming Pao Daily on the Arborist Profession in our territory. ISA HK/China is very grateful to Ming Pao for their continuous support of us in their publication. We think this is good for the HK public too.
Please kindly note the credential ascension in our territory. We encourage our Arborists to set their goal towards the IPA(獨立執業樹藝師) so that they can practice comfortably as a respected professional with all round abilities. IPA compliments ISA credentials with participation into ISA international activities & other functional abilities. It is regarded as a threshold for practicing in our territory.
ISA HK/China will continue to upgrade our profession to compare with the world.
Best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
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職業搜查﹕樹木醫生救樹護民
樹藝師工作包括修剪及移除樹幹或樹木，圖中逾7噸重的大樹，便由獨立執業樹藝師歐永森與一名攀樹師合力，於6小時內移除。
滿車都是攀樹的「基本」裝備，安全腰帶連鋸、安全帽自是必備，不同負重的繩索、重達數公斤的扣等，都是樹上工作必需品，部分由攀樹師自攜上樹，其餘則用繩索吊到樹上。
最長可伸至7米的鋸，可鋸斷不能觸及的部分。
【專訊】樹木近年多次成為新聞主角，塌樹砍樹，都牽動港人的神經。樹木遍佈城市每個角落，有專家形容，樹木是「你唔理佢，佢唔理你；再唔理佢，畀面色你睇；再唔理佢，死畀你睇」。適當的樹木護理，除為了綠化和集體回憶，也是要保障人的生命財產，樹藝師正以此為己任。
國際樹木學會（ISA）中國地區分會會長、獨立執業樹藝師 歐永森笑言，「樹藝師」的名稱並不準確，因為其工作無關藝術，不在乎樹木外觀，而是純科學的樹木醫生、偵探。
樹藝師：工作純科學 無關藝術
收到驗樹要求，樹藝師會「出診」，從結構（樹幹、橫枝、樹根等）、健康（有否落葉、蟲害、爆皮、根部發臭等），及風險（一旦倒塌會造成的後果）等，作評估及建議。一般是建議修剪，若屬高風險且沒有補救辦法，便可能須移除。如瑪利諾修院學校的「鬼樹」南洋杉，傾斜向窩打老道天橋，塌下後果嚴重，兩邊分別是馬路及古蹟，不能做支撐，便屬於高風險。歐永森強調，樹藝師的工作不涉及感情，必須客觀評估並如實講出情。
工作涵蓋修樹監督應訊寫報告
除了評估樹木，樹藝師亦因應不同的牌照類別，需要作地盤監督、樹木設計、修剪或鋸樹，乃至為涉及樹木的官司撰寫報告及出庭應訊。工作除了具樹木知識，亦需要撰寫報告（主要為英文）技巧及法律知識（見另稿），更要就鑑證、化驗等與其他專家合作。
ISA建議樹藝師的日薪為6000 元，而上樹工作的攀樹師為2000元，收入似乎不錯，歐永森表示，自樹木護理受關注後，的確多了查詢。他強調，樹藝師雖不愁出路，但不能「大富大貴」，攀樹工作亦不輕鬆，體能要求很高，所以要加入這個另類行業，學歷是其次，最重要是對樹木的興趣，視之為終生職業，並願意終生學習，不斷進修樹木、法律、鑑證等知識。坊間機構近年開辦不少樹藝師課程，他提醒，部分課程的導師本身沒有樹藝師資格，報名時要留意。
■國際樹木學會
全球會員2萬
國際樹木學會於1924年成立，分會遍佈50國家，全球有逾2.2萬名樹藝師及研究人員會員；中國地區分會包括香港、澳門、台灣及中國大陸。現時本港的各類樹藝師註冊資格，均由ISA中國分會考核。
樹藝師三大牌照類別
【專訊】本港的樹藝師資格共分3種，從加入樹木護理行業，到擁有目前最高的 獨立執業樹藝師資格, 需要最少6年，且無論考取任何資格，ISA都建議每年到外地深造﹕
1. 註冊樹藝師（Certified Arborist）
．資格如「急救證書」，只屬入門，對樹木的知識不算很多
．需要3年全職相關工作經驗、通過包括200題選擇題的考試
．屬文職人員，工作包括基本地盤監督、樹木設計等，全港現有逾250人
2. 註冊攀樹師（Certified Tree Worker）
．需要一年半攀爬經驗（主要參加訓練課程），並通過包括50題選擇題及半小時攀爬的考試
．一般與樹藝師合作，執行後者的指示，攀樹師體能要求很高，本港目前僅得22人
3. 獨立執業樹藝師（Independent Practicing Arborist, IPA）
．擁有註冊樹藝師及註冊攀樹師資格最少3年
．參加一次ISA國際年會的5日活動，並參與攀樹
．英國會考法律科（或擁有本地法律文憑），及香港或英國高級程度會考英文科及格（或同等資歷）
．在10米高樹上，鋸斷指定樹幹並以繩索斜線放到地面
．工作包括樹木的評估、檢查、整修、設計，就涉及樹木的官司撰寫調查報告、出庭應訊等，本港目前只有3人擁有此資格
上述工作範疇屬ISA建議，香港沒有明文規定，樹藝師的實質工作由僱主決定，但近期政府部門招標，標書更規定投標者須就樹木護理聘用有樹藝經驗人才或樹藝師。
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Friday, April 16, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
ISA HK/China --- Arboriculture and the Laws (Episode 2)
国内朋友请使用翻译软件阅读本文。
*** 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,
It has been 4 years since ISA HK/China would dare to touch on this complicated topic again --- Arboriculture & the Laws.
In the past 4 years, ISA HK/China mainly through the work of the Station Manager (SM) has seen Arborists getting involved with legal issues in Tree Dispute more than any other greenery profession in our territory. However, we are infant if compared to places like North America, where Tree Dispute is almost a daily issue in Arbitration & Court somewhere. Some lawyers have even turned into Arborists (or vice versa?) to take a share in this big apple pie. Well known experts like Dr. D Yniguez who possesses a Doctorate Degree in Law, & Mr. L Bloch who wrote "Tree Law Cases in the USA" for ISA, are active Arboricultural Consultants. The SM had the honour to be coached by Dr. Yniguez during his North American training in Feb 2010, & has learned how sharp the teeth an Attorney can be in Tree Dispute.
The Arborist Profession in North America frequently goes to Court. It may be for the Negligence of somebody in tree design, installation, maintenance, inspection, risk assessment or construction protection, or an Arborist is employed to advocate or testify in court for Tree Failure. Over there, anybody can sue somebody for practically anything. A pad on the shoulder can be interpreted as an Assault, & the Court may grant Damages in the value of USD 1 for no significant harm done. However, for a failed tree to hit a power line to induce blackout for days, the claim may be in the millions. It will be even worst if injury or fatality happens, especially to youngsters. Flower & fruit dropping of a Boundary Tree onto neighbour's property may invite Nuisance. Roots uplifting pavement to trip somebody may lead to civil claim. Trees growing too big to block a view may bring mandatory pruning to be contested by the activists. The list just goes on & on.
A frequent position for an Arborist to appear in Court is to act as an Expert Witness. As an Expert Witness, the Arborist must possess extensive knowledge & experience in Arboricultural Practices, Technical Writing Skills, Oratory & Litigation Competence. Not every Arborist would like to work as an Expert Witness, because he will be cross-examined by the opposing Attorney who is specially trained to churn facts into his favour. "Nail the Liar" is the legal training with CEU for Attorneys in North America, & it is a popular program. The SM has noticed that most of the Arborists serving as Expert Witness in North America are 50+ in age & have at least 20 years in the greenery industry. Some of the better ones do not even come from a greenery background like the "Blue Blood" concept commonly practiced in our British system in HK. Yet who can beat them in Court ?
What would usually determine an Arborist win or lose in Court is his Expert Witness Report. In North America, it is regarded as a form of Technical Writing & is best written in Plain English. This means skip the jargons & say it clear & simple to the laymen, because most Court Judges are unfamiliar with our technical terms. This is the reason why Court Arborists are devoting themselves to learn this difficult technique to present themselves with brevity, clarity & fluidity. It is easy to pad sentences with repetition & irrelevance in the name of "professional", but not so the other way round. It is much harder to write concisely, precisely & clearly with a scientific language, as opposed to verbosity, vagueness & clutter. This practice appears to be new in our territory, at least in the greenery industry.
Tree Dispute going to Court is uncommon in HK, because most people simply do not realize that it can be so. Most would think that Tree Failure is an Act of God. "Act of God" in ISA is defined as " An Act occasioned exclusively by violence of nature without the interference of any human agency" (Arboriculture & the Law, ISA, 1992).
In North America, most urban trees would receive care in one form or another by the municipality or the tree owner. If failed, it would not be accepted as an Act of God because care has been given, or should be given. It is generally accepted that only rural trees without a Duty of Care in them to fail in storm would be allowed into this category. Anyway, the Court Judge will make the decision, not anybody.
In the several Tree Dispute that the SM have handled so far in HK, only one involved Tree Failure. The rest belonged to nuisance, land ownership dispute with trees growing on it, illegal tree felling & improper tree design. As public awareness in Tree Planting is increasing in HK, more Court cases may follow from incompetence in tree design, installation, maintenance, inspection, assessment & protection, to a range of many others. Our local lawyers have already seen this as a source of additional income other than the popular Accident Claims. Cases are likely to spring up in future. A few lawyers have already contacted the SM for collaboration. Then why not?
ISA HK/China will conduct seminars in Legal Consultation in Arboriculture later on to benefit our Station Members. On the other hand, we would advise our local Arborists to first master basic skills in legal knowledge & communication to that of an IPA (http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/2008/08/isa-hkchina-independent-practicing.html), before coming to the sessions. The IPA credential has laid out the minimum basics for an Arborist to practice in the legal arena, & the SM requires himself to be miles ahead of these to work as an Expert Witness. Without basic knowledge, the Arborist in Court will find himself a fool standing in front of everybody, & is likely to be carved into pieces by the opposite party. Credentials alone would not help.
There will be a Court session on a Tree Failure case in a HK Court on April 27 & 28, 2010 to be attended by the SM. He is representing a demanding client who vowed never to lose with positive vengeance towards the other side. The session will be the Examination-in chief, & the SM will be firing questions to the opposite Arborist during the Cross Examination. He will follow a standard protocol learned from North America to lead the opposite side to a losing end. It will be exciting to watch this educational session, to see the rare skills of an IPA in Court.
On the other hand, Courts in HK are too small to house too many, & the case is not the only one in session on Apr 27. In view of this, no more than 10 places can be allowed for our Station Members to join on a first come first served basis. ISA HK/China has to apologize for this indeed.
Would all those who wish to attend this Court session please send in your confirmation immediately to the SM by e-mail ? Those who do not hear a reply by 5 pm of Wednesday Apr 14, 2010, can assume that all places are already booked. Please do not call or e-mail in afterwards for intimacy. No favouritism is practiced in ISA HK/China.
Looking forward to have the Laws to advance proper Arboriculture in our territory, one tree & one Arborist 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."
*** 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,
It has been 4 years since ISA HK/China would dare to touch on this complicated topic again --- Arboriculture & the Laws.
In the past 4 years, ISA HK/China mainly through the work of the Station Manager (SM) has seen Arborists getting involved with legal issues in Tree Dispute more than any other greenery profession in our territory. However, we are infant if compared to places like North America, where Tree Dispute is almost a daily issue in Arbitration & Court somewhere. Some lawyers have even turned into Arborists (or vice versa?) to take a share in this big apple pie. Well known experts like Dr. D Yniguez who possesses a Doctorate Degree in Law, & Mr. L Bloch who wrote "Tree Law Cases in the USA" for ISA, are active Arboricultural Consultants. The SM had the honour to be coached by Dr. Yniguez during his North American training in Feb 2010, & has learned how sharp the teeth an Attorney can be in Tree Dispute.
The Arborist Profession in North America frequently goes to Court. It may be for the Negligence of somebody in tree design, installation, maintenance, inspection, risk assessment or construction protection, or an Arborist is employed to advocate or testify in court for Tree Failure. Over there, anybody can sue somebody for practically anything. A pad on the shoulder can be interpreted as an Assault, & the Court may grant Damages in the value of USD 1 for no significant harm done. However, for a failed tree to hit a power line to induce blackout for days, the claim may be in the millions. It will be even worst if injury or fatality happens, especially to youngsters. Flower & fruit dropping of a Boundary Tree onto neighbour's property may invite Nuisance. Roots uplifting pavement to trip somebody may lead to civil claim. Trees growing too big to block a view may bring mandatory pruning to be contested by the activists. The list just goes on & on.
A frequent position for an Arborist to appear in Court is to act as an Expert Witness. As an Expert Witness, the Arborist must possess extensive knowledge & experience in Arboricultural Practices, Technical Writing Skills, Oratory & Litigation Competence. Not every Arborist would like to work as an Expert Witness, because he will be cross-examined by the opposing Attorney who is specially trained to churn facts into his favour. "Nail the Liar" is the legal training with CEU for Attorneys in North America, & it is a popular program. The SM has noticed that most of the Arborists serving as Expert Witness in North America are 50+ in age & have at least 20 years in the greenery industry. Some of the better ones do not even come from a greenery background like the "Blue Blood" concept commonly practiced in our British system in HK. Yet who can beat them in Court ?
What would usually determine an Arborist win or lose in Court is his Expert Witness Report. In North America, it is regarded as a form of Technical Writing & is best written in Plain English. This means skip the jargons & say it clear & simple to the laymen, because most Court Judges are unfamiliar with our technical terms. This is the reason why Court Arborists are devoting themselves to learn this difficult technique to present themselves with brevity, clarity & fluidity. It is easy to pad sentences with repetition & irrelevance in the name of "professional", but not so the other way round. It is much harder to write concisely, precisely & clearly with a scientific language, as opposed to verbosity, vagueness & clutter. This practice appears to be new in our territory, at least in the greenery industry.
Tree Dispute going to Court is uncommon in HK, because most people simply do not realize that it can be so. Most would think that Tree Failure is an Act of God. "Act of God" in ISA is defined as " An Act occasioned exclusively by violence of nature without the interference of any human agency" (Arboriculture & the Law, ISA, 1992).
In North America, most urban trees would receive care in one form or another by the municipality or the tree owner. If failed, it would not be accepted as an Act of God because care has been given, or should be given. It is generally accepted that only rural trees without a Duty of Care in them to fail in storm would be allowed into this category. Anyway, the Court Judge will make the decision, not anybody.
In the several Tree Dispute that the SM have handled so far in HK, only one involved Tree Failure. The rest belonged to nuisance, land ownership dispute with trees growing on it, illegal tree felling & improper tree design. As public awareness in Tree Planting is increasing in HK, more Court cases may follow from incompetence in tree design, installation, maintenance, inspection, assessment & protection, to a range of many others. Our local lawyers have already seen this as a source of additional income other than the popular Accident Claims. Cases are likely to spring up in future. A few lawyers have already contacted the SM for collaboration. Then why not?
ISA HK/China will conduct seminars in Legal Consultation in Arboriculture later on to benefit our Station Members. On the other hand, we would advise our local Arborists to first master basic skills in legal knowledge & communication to that of an IPA (http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/2008/08/isa-hkchina-independent-practicing.html), before coming to the sessions. The IPA credential has laid out the minimum basics for an Arborist to practice in the legal arena, & the SM requires himself to be miles ahead of these to work as an Expert Witness. Without basic knowledge, the Arborist in Court will find himself a fool standing in front of everybody, & is likely to be carved into pieces by the opposite party. Credentials alone would not help.
There will be a Court session on a Tree Failure case in a HK Court on April 27 & 28, 2010 to be attended by the SM. He is representing a demanding client who vowed never to lose with positive vengeance towards the other side. The session will be the Examination-in chief, & the SM will be firing questions to the opposite Arborist during the Cross Examination. He will follow a standard protocol learned from North America to lead the opposite side to a losing end. It will be exciting to watch this educational session, to see the rare skills of an IPA in Court.
On the other hand, Courts in HK are too small to house too many, & the case is not the only one in session on Apr 27. In view of this, no more than 10 places can be allowed for our Station Members to join on a first come first served basis. ISA HK/China has to apologize for this indeed.
Would all those who wish to attend this Court session please send in your confirmation immediately to the SM by e-mail ? Those who do not hear a reply by 5 pm of Wednesday Apr 14, 2010, can assume that all places are already booked. Please do not call or e-mail in afterwards for intimacy. No favouritism is practiced in ISA HK/China.
Looking forward to have the Laws to advance proper Arboriculture in our territory, one tree & one Arborist 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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