ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Tree Climbing Accident in Yuen Long)

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Dear Station Members,

Attached is an unnoticed local news on a Tree Climbing Accident happened on Apr 5, 2008 in Yuen Long. A young man of age 21 worried that the over-growth of a tree covering his house might break to damage the roof. He climbed & tried to cut off the offensive branches apparently without PPE & approved climbing equipment, & then fell to injure himself during the work. He was hospitalized at the end with broken legs.

Tree Climbing is dangerous !! Accident involving tree work has been ranking the top 5 industrial accident in North America for years. It has killed or injured more people than the police & firemen put together over there at one time. Anybody climbing a tree should be trained & properly equipped.

On the other hand, when we look at the current contract requirement for tree work in our territory, hardly any contract would require the tree worker to be trained for tree climbing for the work. So what would be the consequence if one does not climb, say, for pruning? If no climbing is performed, the worker would usually prune trees from bottoms up to remove the lower branches sequentially with a long Pole Saw. In time, the trees would grow taller in response to the lower branches being removed as compensation to regain foliage for Photosynthesis. Then the next pruning would remove more lower branches in the same manner. And the trees would grow even taller to produce more foliage on top. Hence the vicious cycle repeats.

Then can we do it with a bucket truck to reach within or above? It would be a safety violation if one tries to poke through the tree canopy with a bucket carrying a tree worker, because the fallen branches may hit the bucket, besides the boom of the crane can not manoeuvre safely within the branch structures. No licensed crane operator would like to risk that.

If anyone would study our urban trees after pruning for a few years, would the trees not usually be 'lion-tailed' with the lower branches removed mostly? Then how would 'lion-tailed' trees perform in the wind? With a higher Centre of Wind Pressure, they would break more easily in the same velocity of wind with a bigger Bending Moment. This may be why we have so many trees & branches failing after storms & typhoons, besides picking poor quality stocks & incorrect tree selection perhaps.

On the other hand, how can we require our tree workers to be trained for tree climbing, if our landscape supervisors can not climb themselves? This is a million dollar question indeed.

Singapore has begun to require their tree workers to learn tree climbing in their landscape contracts, even though Singapore does not have the typhoons that we know of. How should HK proceed? It also appeared that our CAP 509 Occupational Safety & Health Ordinance would require any worker to be properly trained for his/her duty of work, which may include tree climbing when tree work is to be performed. Are we breaking any laws as such without even knowing?

If anyone would still think tree climbing can be carried out without proper training & approved equipment, maybe he/she would like to consult this poor young man who just broke his legs in the news ...

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/)

ISA HK/China --- Arborists are just Tree Men?

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Dear xxx,

Thank you for your enquiry & we are broadcasting our reply to you in an open Station Mail so that some of our Station Members can also understand the knowledge contained. Please note that it is our Station Policy that any communication coming in can be circulated within our channels for our internal discussion. However, it is customary that we would hide your personal information so that your identity is not disclosed, unless the attack is malicious.

Your claim that Arborists are just Tree Men only can be right to a certain extent in that Arborists would usually deal with trees in urban landscape. However, the Arborist profession would usually go beyond that to study only trees & would branch out into the following disciplines as recently demanded for research in the Arboriculture & Urban Forestry Journal of ISA as follows:

1. Entomology --- The studies of insects, since some insects attack trees.

2. Social Issues & Economic Assessment --- Trees in community affects quality of living & residents' behaviour

3. Soils / Fertilization / Irrigation --- Trees need a good medium to grow well.

4. Biomechanics / Safety / Hazard / Risk --- Mature Trees can be Time Bombs if not properly cared for.

5. Pathology --- Trees, like animals including humans, can become sick.

6. Horticulture / Transplanting / Construction Damage --- the cultural practice & knowledge in keeping trees in good condition.

7. Tree Biology / Physiology / Genetics --- Arborists are Tree Doctors & Tree Detectives.

8. Urban Forest Management / Modelling / Assessment --- Like how human population is managed in a city, tree community would also require management to avoid competition, risk & undesirable growth.

9. Utilities Forestry --- Many parts of the world would have trees, be they wild or landscaped, growing underneath power lines to touch the high voltage above. These tress would need to be managed to reduce risks.

10. Ecology / Urban Interface --- Without trees, the wildlife we know on land may disappear. Trees impact the image of a city & quality of living of a community.

As you can now see, you are correct in the sense that Arborists are Tree Men because we deal mainly with trees, like doctors would mainly deal with humans & not animals. However, the knowledge of an Arborist may stretch far beyond that of just identifying trees & talking about 'flowering' like what you would anticipate. We do not & can not ignore the environment surrounding trees to help them grow well. Arborists are generally practitioners to solve problems on site.

It is also rather unusual that any single Arborist would be expert in many fields, since each field has its own depth & speciality. That's why in many quality Arborist training or discussion, usually the Arborist specializing in one field would focus on his own subject, & would leave the other areas to different experts. I personally do not know of any Arborist who is a master of all.

Arborists in our territory do not have the intention to take over the greenery as you may have hinted, but we would like to be part of the team to provide our knowledge to help bring a better tree community for the benefit of our society. Arboriculture is new to our territory, but ISA is already 84 years old, & is strongly established in many western countries including Singapore. Just compare our trees with that of Singapore & ask yourself whether Arboriculture is doing good or not for the community. Trees in Singapore are designed, installed, maintained, inspected, risk-assessed & preserved by Arborists in their community.

To become a Certified Arborist (CA) is like obtaining an entrance ticket to the Hall of Arboriculture & would not usually make you an instant professional, unless you already are, as demonstrated in many parts of the world. CA is a credential to ascertain a level of knowledge. CA exam also does not test a candidate for communication skills & practical knowledge like in-situ pruning. Many of the topics mentioned above would require research & self-study for personal development after being a CA. Around the world, most CA do not actually go into practice because practising involves legal liabilities. Practising Arborists (PA) frequently go to Court, for one reason or another. CA may not be the equivalent of PA, & that's something you may wish to understand & consider before you wish to obtain the credential.

I hope my information above can be of help to you.

Thank you for your enquiry again & please do not hesitate to contact us anytime for any question you may have.

Yours faithfully,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
Professional Nurseryman, Practising Arborist & Landscaper

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/)

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Wong Tai Sin Tree Failure)

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Dear Station Members,

The recent Wong Tai Sin Tree Failure has been causing havoc in the media as per attached & on the internet. This Station really felt sorry for the Govt Depts handling it & could only wish the media can be placed in the same shoes sometimes to enjoy the criticism.

From verbal reports of Station Members who have visited the site, the problem appeared to be Erythrina Gall Wasps which had weakened the tree to the failure point. Then wind & rain catalysed the failure like everywhere else for tree failure in the world. What were seen as decay & pest attack appeared to be secondary to the primary initiation.

If the case would go to Court with the tree owner sued for Negligence by the victim, the plaintiff lawyer with the help of an experienced Arborist could possibly point out many accounts of lack of care in the maintenance of this tree. The chance of winning a hefty damages may be promising.

Besides monetary compensation, what would happen if this Chinese visitor went home & told his folks that the trees in HK are killers & he nearly kicked the bucket for it? Would our brothers & sisters up north with their thirsting media not enlarge the event to out of proportion for one reason or another? Yet in HK we are supposed to have an advanced landscape.

Possibly this Erythrina was selected for ' flowering' during the design & at that time, maybe we did not understand enough about trees to be careful. Since now that we have so many trees selected for ' flowering' without much consideration for Structure & Wind Stability, we may have some worries indeed to tend our trees.

Famous Arboricultural sayings passed down from experts would include:

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

2. Mature Trees can be Time Bombs if not attended properly.

3. In any Tree Selection, it is always Mother Nature makes the rules, not us.

Only if experienced & qualified Arborists would have regularly inspected & risk-assessed our many Mature Trees in our territory, & to produce Arborist Reports to ascertain recommendations & responsibilities, then event as such in Wong Tai Sin would possibly fall upon the liabilities of the Arborist, not that of the Govt Depts.

For future planning, tragedy like Wong Tai Sin may be proportionally reduced by getting Arborists involved in the design, installation, maintenance, inspection & risk assessment of trees in our urban landscape. This is what western countries including Singapore would do. They have City Arborists & Urban Foresters to look after their trees. Why should we not?

Our typhoon season is about to come & one rainy night has already seen major incident as such for our Mature Tree Failure. What would happen if we get another mini-typhoon like Prapiroon of 2006 to visit us later on? Are we still able to claim the subsequent tree failures, damages & disruption all ' Acts of God ' ?

Only if HK can put Arborists back on stage to look after our trees like western countries, then maybe our trees would become safer, better looking & perhaps even happier in our territory?

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/)

ISA HK/Chia --- Introduction to IPM (Part 3 & 4)

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Dear Station Members,

Further to the issue of the Part 1 & 2 of the same article a few weeks ago, please kindly find the remaining Part 3 & 4 in consecutive Station Mail to complete this series.

The attached article advised upon how to implement IPM together with PHC. After all, what's good is it to know the benefits of IPM but not knowing how to apply? Arboriculture is a Practitioner Trade & Arborists are front-line professionals solving problems on the spot. It is therefore important for them to understand how to deal with practical situation at all time.

Many trees in our territory actually developed symptoms from poor nursery stock selection & incorrect cultural practice without the landscapers really knowing why. For example, China stocks are usually planted very close together like sugar canes with trunks shaded from canopies during production. When a selected tree is pulled out from the crowd, the trunk without Taper which has been protected from sunlight all the time would be suddenly exposed to light & wind. Many would develop sunscald in this manner which would lead to cracks & then wounds; & to cavities & eventually decay. With decay in trunk & branches, there is always a chance for failure in the wind.

Another major challenge for China stocks is that they would usually come with undersized rootballs. An internationally acceptable rootball would be at least 10 times the size of the trunk diameter, i.e. a 3 inch trunk would come with a 30 inch rootball. This is to ensure that the transplanted tree could retain adequate roots to carry on the normal functions demanded by a tree. Without enough roots, the tree would go into ' Transplant Shock', & would sit there suffering or dying, defeating the purpose of installing a tree in landscape. Yet tree arrival on site is rarely inspected on the spot before installation in our territory. Post planting inspection is usually carried out, but this will be too late to spot for anything especially rootball size. The tree would then develop symptom of one or the other later on without anybody knowing why.

Other common defects associated with China stocks would be Girdling Roots due to production in containers, & incorrect pruning such as Topping which produces large wound & destroys Tree Structure. A lot of trees are also installed with added fertilizers in the backfill which would burn off the emerging roots to impede recovery. Symptoms would eventually appear.

The combination of poor nursery stocks & incorrect cultural practices is actually harming our trees. Sophistication in chemical spray appears to be the depended solution in our territory. Some tend to think that the better we spray, the better trees we'll get.

Then does it work out this way?

Please try to find the answers in the attached article.

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/)

ISA HK/China --- Informal Dinner to welcome Mr. James Urban

Dear ISA HK/China Station Members & TCHK Members,

ISA HK/China jointly with TCHK are privileged to be able to invite the internationally famous Landscape Architect & Urban Forester, Mr. James Urban, to attend an Informal Dinner hosted in his honour by our Members, with details as follows:

Date: Thursday Mar 27, 2008

Time: Seminar starting at 6.30 pm, Buffet Dinner starting at 7.30 pm. Vegetarians should have no problem attending this dinner. Also, no Shark Fins will be served to be in line for our conservationist members. Anyone joining will be required to pay for the dinner whether he/she would stay to eat or not.

Venue: Hover City Chiu Chow Restaurant (潮豪城洒樓), 1/F, Cheung Sha Wan Plaza, 833 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, which is just above Exit A of Lai Chi Kok MTR Station. Tel: 2745 7655

Cost: approx. HK$ 250 person, with total cost to be shared among all participating Station Members at the end of the dinner.

Seminar Topic: Urban Soil & Trees seen by Mr. Urban during his visit to Singapore, HK & China.

Capacity: 60 persons

CEU: 1 CEU will be given to any CA participating.

Please kindly note this is a rare opportunity for HK people to meet face to face with an internationally renowned expert in Urban Soil & Trees. Mr. Urban needs little introduction by this Station to be a respectable gentleman & knowledgeable professional in the field of urban landscape. His presence is sought around the world for expertise on landscape design as well as tree planting. This is not an opportunity to be missed by our landscapers or anybody interested in tree planting indeed.

For those of you who missed the booking for the educational CEDD seminar of Mr. Urban on Mar 25, maybe you would like to quickly book on this one to avoid another disappointment.

This invitation is also extended to CAHK, GAIA, KFBG, hktree.com & others for their members to consider to come to meet Mr. Urban in this memorable occasion.

Thank you for your kind attention & please book at your earliest convenience.

best regards,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
TCHK Chieftain

Information of Mr. James Urban

Mr Urban is an internationally acclaimed expert in landscape architecture, urban architecture and urban soils. He specialises in the design of trees and soils in urban spaces.

Mr Urban has written and lectured extensively on the subject of urban tree planting and has been responsible for the introduction of many innovations including most of the current standards relating to urban tree plantings. He was instrumental in the development of structural cells and structural planting soils for use under sidewalk pavements, micro-root paths and macro-soil trench techniques.

Mr. Urban is the Plant Editor for Landscape Architecture Magazine and the current author of the section in Architectural Graphics on tree preservation, planting and urban tree planting. He is a visiting lecturer on Urban Soils Tree Planting at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

ISA HK/China --- 'The Root of the Problem' by James Urban

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Dear Station Members,

This Station apologizes to bombard our Station Members lately with various kind of research, but arboriculture is just full of research. In fact, if the Station Manager is not working or tree climbing, he will be burying himself in the latest research. There is just too much an Arborist would need to learn to stay in practice to handle the ever changing situation. Obtaining a credential is merely pushing open the gate.

Attached is an article recently given to this Station by the internationally acclaimed Mr. James Urban who will be visiting HK very soon. Mr. Urban needs little introduction as an internationally renowned Landscape Architect & Urban Forester to anyone knowledgeable in the landscape practice. His article here was meant for sharing with our 610 no. of Station Members for our update on the latest international practice on tree production & nursery stock standards.

This article would challenge our conventional wisdom of using Containerized Trees & plants which have been advocated by a lot of our local landscapers to be without 'Transplant Shock' & would give 'Instant Effect' after planting. However, Mr. Urban reckoned that nearly any kind of Containerization would lead to the development of Circling/Girdling Roots, which can lead to future poor growth or even toppling in wind if unchecked. Mr. Urban also reckoned to use Bare Root Trees to avoid this problem.

On the other hand, a new nursery stocks standard has been jointly developed by the ISA, American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) & the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in 2005 to state that a minimum of two main roots must be within 3 inches of the rootball soil line as measured 4 inches from the trunk, for any nursery tree to be acceptable in urban planting. Further information on this topic can be obtained at :

http://www.anla.org/applications/Documents/Docs/Structural_Root_Depth_BMP_-_Final_Format_July_2005.pdf

It is also reckoned that an inch of soil can be left over the roots to avoid damaging the root surface during the planting operation.

In ETF, tree production has been following the above-mentioned practice since the beginning of operation in 2005. ISA's guidelines for tree production are not to have Girdling Roots nor deeply planted roots, & the minimum rootball size should be around 10 x trunk diameter. Containerization is discouraged in ETF to avoid any tendency to produce Girdling Roots. Uphill potting of seedlings at ETF is inspected every week to ensure no Circling Roots development, or to be planted into ground once circling began to appear. Any tree found planted too deep in ETF will be removed & replaced.

Such are the requirements to produce any quality trees, & quality trees would save maintenance & minimize future failure in a landscape. These are also the points ignored by our brothers & sisters up north because their landscape specifications have no requirements up to this level. HK can certainly do better than that.

The attached article was written by an international Landscape Architect on the latest research & finding. It should serve as a good reference by our local landscapers to help source & install our trees, as well as to match our current practice with the world. HK is an international city where visitors can compare, & we have regular storms & typhoons every year. Having better trees would provide better & safer landscape, & our city is wealthy enough to select better trees. HK is Third World no more.

Do we not agree?

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)

ISA HK/China --- 2008 Research on the Benefits of City Trees

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Dear Station Members,

Traditionally in HK & China, trees in landscape are selected mostly for the benefit of flowering. However for a tree, flowering is meant for attracting mammals & insects for reproduction, & flowers are usually on top & edge of a tree to be seen by these creatures, without consideration of human enjoyment. Therefore, if someone rests underneath a tree & looks up, he would see hardly any flower which is usually the case in our urban setting. Flowering also creates debris when the inflorescence & fruits drop, giving hygienic problem & unsightliness. When a 'flowering' tree is not selected properly for a specific growing condition, the tree may not flower, or just flower once only by burning off the remaining energy.

Another conventional criteria in picking a tree would be to match a tree with the name of a place, e.g. Bougainvillea for ' Bougainvillea Court' & Cherry for Cherry Lane, usually without much consideration whether it is the 'Right Tree for the Right Place' & as long as it looks good on paper. Just look at how many Bahinias are planted all over HK in recent years.

The benefits of trees are certainly more than just for flowering & christening a place. Trees regulate temperature, reduce run-off during storm, hide unwanted view, reduce air pollution, enhance ecological balance, promote social & psychological harmony, & many others. Just when trees are selected for flowering alone does not mean the other benefits should be buried & ignored, & there are more reasons to select a tree just for flowering.

The attached research from ISA gave a rarely mentioned benefit of City Trees in promoting the health & stamina of residents by encouraging them to exercise physically. This research has shown that humans enjoy hanging around environment with trees. In older day China, rural villages would almost without exception plant selected tree species around the vicinity. Some said it was for Fung Shui. This Station would reckon it was for better than that, e.g. firewood, food, shade & herbal medicines. Trees there were a necessity then, & hardly for the reason of flowering.

In the Tree Supervision lecture of the Station Manager at CITA, the first question to throw out to challenge the candidates would be whether anyone would enjoy living in a desert. A desert has no tree. The Station Manager has not yet heard anyone replying that they would enjoy living in a place with no tree. Trees are part of our life in the back of our mind, & therefore they should be planted & protected.

If trees are so important, we would need to learn how to design, select, plant, maintain & inspect trees, because if a tree is not properly so done so, it is likely to become a time bomb for our city. Just look at how many tree failures we have after storms & never mind after the regular typhoons. Trees should be selected for more than just flowering, but also for good Structure & Health to stand against wind. The right trees must go into the right places so that we can enjoy their benefits.

In order to do this, the first step is to learn what a 'good' tree should be because planting, maintenance including Structural Pruning, inspection & risk assessment will base upon how to obtain a 'good' tree. Hence it is always the emphasis of this Station in any of arbor introduction to first inform on how a 'good' tree should look & stay like, since everything else will come from & try to imitate that.

Trees in HK are our valuable assets. We appear to be losing them in our continuous development & we should preserve & protect the existing ones. But we shall need to know how. When we plant new trees, we should also re-vitalize our landscape with good quality ones rather than just hunting for the cheapest. The cheapest ones usually cost more in maintenance & lead to public complaint when failed. Our older trees are already history & should be given a dignified retreat. The new ones should be our hope & we must select the right ones, or we'll repeat our past mistakes.

Disagreement? Our existing trees are still better to show the world? Why not try to compare with Singapore & get some answers there ...

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/)

ISA HK/China --- TCHK's public reply on the benefits of Tree Climbing

Dear Station Members,

TCHK (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) has recently published a public reply in Chinese on the enquiry of the benefits of Tree Climbing by an outsider. It is written in a language second to none by a professional to explain the good of Tree Climbing to a non-believer & translated complicated knowledge into laymen term for public understanding. It is worth broadcasting in our 'Professionals' Channel for public viewing.

Tree Climbing has always been part of ISA Arboriculture. It is on Arborist News in every edition & there is an International Tree Climbing Championship in every ISA Conference in the world. Despite its popularity, there is very few literature on the description of Tree climbing, because it is such a fast moving industry that by the time the book is printed, the technology has already moved ahead.

Please enjoy this interesting article written in colloquial Cantonese for the understanding of the majority of TCHK Members.

best regards,

Sammy Au

Station Manager

攀爬一族 重要家書 2號 （攀樹有何好處？）

有人問：

我唔係你地族人，但係上網成日見到你地係度吹噓話攀樹点正点好，咁我玩第二D運動唔得嘅咩，点解要學攀樹？ 你地有無D乜野可以Ling出黎詳細解釋吓點解攀樹咁好丫！

族長親自答：

老兄你講得出依番說話，雖然我倆素未謀面，但本族長都幾敢肯定你可能從未試過真正用過‘器材攀樹’同埋上過好高，否則你未必會咁樣講嘅。我依家以我半老人家嘅身份嚟同你解釋，希望你會明白箇中道理。

攀樹同其他危險運動嘅最大嘅分別就係攀樹嘅專注力係會係與別不同。舉例講，攞游水嚟比，如果你游緊果陣唔集中精神，最多你會游慢D或且飲兩啖水，唔會成个即刻沉左落去掛？咁同攀石比又点呀？攀石嘅初級一般都係用手用腳抓住舊石一步一步上去，而身上條繩就主要用嚟防墜，个人企係舊石上便係唔會俾D風吹嚟擺去，會係企定定咁樣成个人貼住舊石係度等下一步嘅。

攀樹就非常唔同。就算你係用「身體推行法」貼住棵樹「豬仔爬」上去，須知道唔係棵棵樹都直筆甩咁俾你貼住爬上去，只要你叉錯一腳就可能會成个人「甩樹」，飛左出去半空中好似只蜘蛛咁樣吊下吊下，都咪話唔夠剌激。如果用‘腳鎖式’上樹果陣就更加唔使講添喇，一定係乜野都點唔到，除左自己、空氣同埋條繩，係咁半天吊聽天由命。

攀樹係真正嘅「命懸一線」，條繩就係攀樹人條命，條繩如果有乜冬瓜豆腐，个人亦都跟埋條繩去冬瓜豆腐。攀樹工作至今都依然係全美洲五大工業意外之一，曽經試過一年內傷亡人數比起果度D警察同埋消防員加埋重要多三倍，咁你話夠剌激未？

咁危險咁又点解去學攀樹呀？其實國際上嘅‘器材攀樹’實質上有一套非常嚴謹嘅安全守則，往往係D人唔肯去學或者一於少埋先至會出事。攀樹其實唔比跳傘或者深海潛水危險，多數出事嘅人都係叻過龍果D人，好少係正常循規道矩嘅人。

係我地當今大都市裡便，人與人之間經常互相猜疑，互相鬥爭，在公在私都要日日對住部電腦，一上班果陣就文山會海，議而不決，到左落班果陣，重話走去跑步游水？都已經晚上八点几喇。

但係，如果趁住星期六、日、成班人圍埋係棵樹腳下便拋下沙袋，掛下繩，然後「豬仔爬」上去几米坐係條樹丫上便叫下映下相，我試過見過D成六十歲嘅婆頭都開心到變番十六歲嘅妹丁，佢地果種童真歡樂係由內心裡邊自發出嚟，唔係扮得到架。

我又見過有D大則師大工程師，平日Jit 到唔笑，但係一立住條繩上樹就馬上成只開籠雀咁、鬼咁多野問，鬼咁多野講，跟住一「豬仔爬」上去就用埋飲奶D力，咬牙切齒咁一邊唱「誓要去，入刀山，浩氣壯，過千關 ……..」，死都要捱埋果三、五米高度，拉到成双手甩晒皮都無所謂，上到去上便果陣叉開双手係度大鵬展翅映相，落番地果陣重解壓過考完果大學畢業試，咁你話有益定無益？

鳳溪攀樹隊果班年青人，本族長係教佢地開頭果陣，裡便有打交天王，逃學聖手，多情小生，佢地大部份無心向學，有D由尾數番上頭全級考第二，好多如果係星加坡住早就打晒藤條，佢地黎學攀樹完全係嚟碰下運氣。但係俾本族長又讚又嚇咁教左幾个月之後，考包尾嘅變成全班考十幾，打交嘅留番D力嚟爬樹，而且全部人好緊張咁學英文，因為大部份攀樹知識都係用英文嚟寫。

由此可見，攀樹有乜好？就係真情歡樂，身心健康，精神減壓，注意力集中，服從紀律，建立自信，熱血自豪，環境保育，回歸自然 ……… 重有……… 重有… 我地‘攀爬一族’ 嘅口號係：

攀爬一族，非凡脫俗。能人不能，樹上貴族。

本族長已半百歲人，後生果陣走遍全球各地，跳傘潛水攀山打獵乜都試過，但我可以話俾你知，無一樣野會比攀樹更加剌激，係更有滿足感嘅。

唔信我？咁你又試過攀樹未？点解唔嚟試下再講吖？？

ISA HK/China --- TCHK training, certificate & insurance

*** 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,

Please kindly find attached the latest announcement of TCHK (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) in Chinese with regard to minimum attendance, certificate to be conferred & insurance offer, for those who are interested. Continuous intake is coming in from all sectors of society & TCHK has the intention to become a recognized body by Govt Depts to train Tree Workers in HK for skills & safety. TCHK will also spread into China in due course.

TCHK is the answer to Station Members who constantly enquire for training & certificates locally in the Chinese language, together for any contractor & staff. TCHK can tailor make training for institutes & organization in English or Chinese to satisfy their requirement. TCHK can also train any age or qualification, has an independent administration & links up with ISA HK/China & ETF to offer a complete set of arbor knowledge & practice. Govt Depts can certainly consider to send their contractors & staff to TCHK training for practice & safety.

Looking forward to anyone applying for TCHK training in due course.

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)

ISA HK/China --- 2008 reaearch on Tree Staking

*** 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 published by ISA on Tree Staking.

Tree Staking is a requirement in nearly every landscape contract in HK & China nowadays. The general spirit is that it should be done with the strongest material as possible & should be there for as long as possible, because it is thought that Tree Staking would stabilize the tree in wind & storm. Another obvious reason for staking may be the undersized rootball of nursery trees coming in from China which can not stand itself after installation & would require staking. On the other hand, if a wind force of typhoon magnitude would strike directly upon a tree secured with a rigid staking system, maybe if the system can stand the wind, the tree is likely to break or snap (basic Tree Biomechanics).

HK is full of Tree Staking lasting for years, especially in the private sector. Some stronger one even appeared to last forever. This latest ISA research has given comparison for the pros & cons of Tree Staking & has provided the latest information on current practice. If anyone would disagree with it, please give this Station the opposite research (not a point of view or from a coffee magazine, please) & we are obliged to publish it to show the world. This Station is always fact-finding & truth-telling, & we worship nothing but fact & truth.

Therefore, should our territory carry on the 'permanent staking' for our trees which is required in nearly every landscape specification today? Is the money thrown into Tree Staking justified for the result? Do we get better trees, or poorer, in this manner ?

Please try to find the answers to these questions in the attached article.

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/)

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Sheung Shui OVT Camphor)

*** 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 is all another sad piece of news that another of our Old & Valuable Tree (OVT) was apparently damaged by construction work in Sheung Shui recently.

The attached news described the OVT apparently suffered from root suffocation by concrete paving during construction work which led to diebacks in canopy. The relevant authority, after being informed, took measure to mitigate the problem with raised platform & this tree is now placed under observation to hope for the best. For mature tree of this kind, it may take a long time to recover, if ever.

Although our Govt have already issued contractual guidelines to protect our OVT & many other mature trees, from event as described, such measures did not seem to fall on the right ears. This Station feels our Govt have done a lot of work to protect & preserve our trees with the many seminars & training within Depts which enthusiastically supported the program. However, despite nearly 30 seminars by the rhetoric Station Manager at CITA shouting for reasons to protect & care for our trees, little change can be seen from people involved in the work. CITA students were there because there was compulsion & the lectures became vivid show to a lot of them, rather than genuine converting. Tree design & specification carry on pretty much the same, & the same quality trees from China continue to arrive to plant our landscape.

It may be true that our public would want to genuinely protect our trees consciously. However, in construction or development, it may be more convenient to carry out the work without regard to existing trees which can be viewed as an obstacle to progress. When compared to dry commercial interest, trees may have to give way to become the loser. To some after all, they are only ' trees'. Why should they deserve all the respect?

Back to the analogy of Opium Smoking in Older China, most people would thought it as wrong but would not stop doing it. Outcry was ignored. Then when the gun boats arrived, many went on praying & blamed on everything else. Should the same happen to our trees when the typhoon arrives?

This Station wonders what would happen if the same tree damage above would occur in Singapore?

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/)

TCHK --- 1st revised training & exam schedule for 2008

Dear Station Members & Anybody,

Further to our Station Mail of yesterday giving details of the TCHK Training & Activities of 2008 (which is also on Blog of http://isahkchina.blogspot.com ), please kindly notice that a revision is now given out as per attached to add in :

1. Fundamental Training in Structural Pruning on 14 June, 2008

2. Aerial Rescue Certificate Training on 21 & 28 of June, 2008

It is also added that trainees can borrow the Climbing Equipment provided by TCHK during training, but anyone taking TCHK exams must bring in their own approved PPE & Climbing Equipment for compliance.

Such is the major revision in this Schedule from the original. Please discard the original Schedule & replace it with this 1st Revised Schedule.

Thank you for your kind attention on this matter indeed.

best regards,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- TCHK training modules/exams of 2008

*** 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,

After much consideration & planning, TCHK (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) finally can issue the promised Training Modules as per the attached files (all in Chinese only) to show the public. The Station Manager himself has been pursued several hundred times in the past few years for local arbor training programs & this is how TCHK can answer this call at least partially.

TCHK is now a legally registered society under the Society Ordinance CAP 151 in HK & is currently the leading training facility of ISA HK/China in our territory. The modules now delivered primarily focus on Tree Climbing, with other training such as Nursery Practice, Structural Pruning, Tree Inspection, Risk Assessment & Management, Tree Bio-mechanics, Certified Arborist exam preparation, CTW exam preparation, etc. to be provided once TCHK can gather adequate resources & facilities locally.

TCHK also aims to set Industry Standards in its training modules & exams with each level independent from another & all training & exams open to public, other than participants of TCHK training. This is to ensure the TCHK qualifications are open, fair & justified, & to invite anyone trained anywhere to take part in the qualification assessment. In fact, the training design has followed the ISA CTW exam requirement with the upper levels going beyond this requirement to ensure our territory can get competent tree climbers to do the work & sport properly & safely on a tree.

Since TCHK has designed qualifications to become benchmark in the tree climbing industry for HK, Govt Depts & public are welcomed to compare TCHK training with their own, or even consider to send staff or contractors to be trained by TCHK, so that tree work in HK can be performed safely & efficiently for the benefit of our public. Ordinary gardening institutes in HK currently can not provide this form of training & TCHK is one of the very few institutes which can porovide this kind of unique training.

For those who are interested, please study carefully the files attached for administration or specification purposes, & contact TCHK in accordance with the information contained.

TCHK looks forward to advance proper tree & practice in our territory, one tree at a time.

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)

攀爬一族 --- 族群訓練和考試大綱

「攀爬一族」本體分成多個族群，每個族群都各有特式，每一族級向上調升時都必須經過訓練和考試去厘定其水平，每個考試合格的人均可獲發証書。每個族群也各設教練牌，方便日後大量訓練教練去擴張各族群。為迎合社會目前需要，「攀爬一族」將首先大量發展‘修行族’及‘康體族’的訓練，當此兩族群的人員達到一定數量之後，其他專業訓練例如‘精英族’、‘長老族’、流纜技術、鏈鋸使用、樹上救援等等訓練將會陸續推出。

此外，‘康體族’的訓練基本銜接職業攀爬，為進入‘精英族’及ISA‘攀樹師’牌照而鋪路。細觀其中，其實‘康體族’的部份訓練已經超越ISA‘攀樹師’的考試要求，皆因本族志在培育真正攀爬人才，希望其畢業後真正能夠達到某個程度水平及要求，而並非只為提供証書及牌照而已。

所有成功出席本族訓練的人仕均會獲發 ‘出席証書’，參加族級考試合格的人仕將會另外獲發 ‘族級考試合格証書’。為保迎合科技進步需要，每級証書均設年限，與國際走向接軌。

1 修行族

所有沒有受過正當攀樹訓練的人，當加入「攀爬一族」之時，都會被放入此族群的‘初級’類別，其訓練也考慮到能夠合適兒童、婦女、年長、畏高或體弱人仕。所有修行族的考試証書有效期為10年。

初級：所有不懂攀爬的族人都會放在此級，不須要參加或接受任何訓練，並無証書發出。

中級訓練：

1. 學習檢查個人防護裝備 (PPE) 。
2. 學習檢查攀樹器材 (Climbing Equipment) 。
3. 學習6 個CTW 考試用繩結 (半結、秤人結、活動秤人結、双套結、双套結加半結、接繩結) 。
4. 學習使用 ‘手腳推行法’ (Modified Body Thrust, MBT) 爬樹至5米高度上及落。

此級主要針對體弱，怕高或婦女兒童而設，課程可一日完成，歡迎任何人仕參加。

中級考試：

1. 能夠在15分鐘内完成PPE及攀樹器材的檢查達至考牌官滿意為止。
2. 能夠完全打綁上述6個中級繩結至考牌官滿意為止，每個打結時間限時1分鐘。
3. 能夠於15分鐘内利用MBT 技術攀爬至離地5米以上達到指定點及完成下降。

高級訓練：

1. 學習基本檢查樹木及場地是否適合攀爬。
2. 學習基本如何選擇合適樹椏掛繩。
3. 學習3個攀樹繩結 (双漁夫結、迫力結及八字結)
4. 學習使用投擲袋引繩上樹。
5. 學習安裝MBT系統攀樹。
6. 學習利用 MBT系統攀爬至7米高以上樹椏企穏。

此級訓練針對攀爬人員能夠選擇合適樹木、場地、器材和系統去攀樹達到7米高度及能夠安全下降，課程須時兩日。

高級考試：

1. 能夠完全打綁上述3個高級繩結至考牌官滿意為止，每個打結時間限時1分鐘。
2. 能夠於15分鐘内完成樹木及場地檢查，達至考牌官滿意為止。
3. 能夠於30分鐘内利用投擲袋引繩上樹，設立及利用MBT系統攀爬至7米以上樹椏，並安全下降。

修行族教練牌：

申請人必須已加入本族，有1年以上攀樹經驗，已通過修行族高級考試，對以上三級都能完全掌握技術，持有合格急救証書及由本族發出的‘空中拯救’(Aerial Rescue)証書，已被本族邀請參與助教活動2次以上，通過本族族長和副族長考核合格的族人，則可獲發此牌照，有效期為3年。

2 康體族

康體族會是日後攀爬一族最大之族群，可以發展到學校、社團、園藝公司或任何機構。康體族對體能、技術及裝備的要求較高，合適熱愛攀樹活動及需要學習基本攀樹技能到樹上工作的人仕參與。所有康體族的考試証書有效期為5年。

初級訓練：

1. 學習更多攀樹繩結 (抛繩結、錨結及双八字結)。
2. 學習使用單繩結綁摩擦結及使用分叉繩打綁攀爬系統。
3. 學習使用拋繩結掛繩上樹。
4. 學習使用微型滑輪收鬆繩、吊物上落樹和推動摩擦結。
5. 學習使用安全繩 (Lanyard) 於樹上作出固定。
6. 學習設立 ‘身体推行法’ (Body Thrust) 攀樹系統及如何檢查安全。
7. 學習使用 ‘身体推行法’ 攀樹達5米以上樹椏，及利用安全繩固定自己。
8. 學習 ‘枝上行走’ (Limb Walking) 離開主幹約2米，及返回主幹重新固定。
9. 學習正確量度攀樹繩回到地上長度及安全下降。

此級課程開始進入職業攀爬領域，學習材料針對ISA的‘攀樹師’ 考試，完成此課程的人仕應可獨立攀爬至5米高度運動和工作，此課程須時2日。

初級考試：

1. 能夠完全打綁上述3個攀樹繩結至考牌官滿意為止，每個打結時間限時1分鐘。
2. 能夠在5分鐘内完成綁打拋繩結，將其拋上5米高樹椏及掛好繩。
3. 能夠設立整套 ‘身体推行法’ 攀爬系統並能在離地1.5米高度完成安全測試。
4. 能夠在15分鐘内，使用‘身体推行法’到達離地5米以上的樹椏，使用安全繩固定及能夠做出 ‘枝上行走’ 離開主幹約2米，及返回主幹重新固定。
5. 能夠正確量度攀樹繩回到地上長度及安全下降。

中級訓練：

1. 學習安裝及拆除大細圈 (Cambium Saver)。
2. 學習使用 ‘身体推行法’ 攀樹到7米以上樹椏。
3. 學習使用抛繩結及長柄鋸 (Pole Saw) 去做出 ‘轉支點’ (Rope Advancement) 到15米以上樹椏。
4. 學習 ‘枝上行走’ (Limb Walking) 最少離開主幹5米及返回主幹。
5. 學習 ‘定向搖擺’ (Controlled Swing)。
6. 學習建立 ‘双支點’ (Double-Crotch Tie-In) 攀爬系統。
7. 學習使用 ‘吊索’ (Sling’) 去作出固定。
8. 學習 ‘主繩轉向’ (Redirect)。

此課程混入職業攀爬原素，使學習者的攀爬技術更進一步。此課程須時2日。

中級考試：

1. 能夠安裝及拆除大細圈。
2. 能夠建立攀爬系統，使用 ‘身体推行法’ 攀樹到7米以上樹椏，使用抛繩結或長柄鋸去做出 ‘轉支點’ 到15米以上樹椏， 整個過程必須在20分鐘内完成。
3. 能夠做出 ‘枝上行走’ 最少離開主幹5米及返回主幹。
4. 能夠做出 ‘定向搖擺’ 大約2米。
5. 能夠使用 ‘吊索’ 去做出 ‘主繩轉向’。
6. 能夠建立 ‘双支點’ 攀爬系統及使用此系統安全下降。

高級訓練：

1. 學習及使用4個 ‘高級攀爬摩擦結’ (Advanced Friction Hitches)，包括Knut, Vt, Prusik及Klemheist。
2. 學習 ‘單點腳鎖’ (Double Rope Footlock) 攀爬系統。
3. 學習如何在樹上自由地由 A 點往 B 點之 ‘高級枝上行走’ (Advanced Limb Walk)。
4. 學習 ‘人工輔助攀爬’ (Belayed Climb) 系統。
5. 學習使用 ‘双繩腳鎖’ (Secured Footlock)系統攀爬離地5米及使用8字扣下降。
6. 學習在樹上使用 手鋸 (Hand Saw) 及 長柄鋸 (Pole Saw) 去切割3吋 (75mm) 以下枯枝。

此課程教授各種高級攀樹技術，亦為銜接 ‘職業攀爬’ 和考取ISA攀樹師牌照作出準備，課程須時2日。

高級考試：

1. 能夠完全打綁上述4個高級攀爬繩結至考牌官滿意為止，每個打結時間限時2分鐘。
2. 能夠使用 ‘單點腳鎖’ 攀爬系統攀爬至7米以上樹椏，並由考牌官指定的A點成功到達B點，整個過程在20分鐘内完成。
3. 能夠使用 ‘人工輔助攀爬’ 系統攀爬至7米以上樹椏。
4. 能夠使用 ‘双繩腳鎖’ 系統攀爬離地5米及使用8字扣下降。
5. 能夠在樹上使用手鋸及長柄鋸去切割3吋 (75mm) 以下枯枝。

康體族教練牌：

申請人必須已加入本族，有2年以上攀樹經驗，已通過康體族高級考試，對以上三級都能完全掌握技術，持有合格急救証書及由本族發出的‘空中拯救’ 証書，亦必須曽參加過攀樹比賽最少一次（無須獲獎）去確定其表現，已被本族邀請參與助教活動3次以上，通過本族族長和副族長考核合格的族人，方可獲發此牌照，有效期為3年。


注意事項：

1. 本族有權對任何參加本族訓練或考試的人仕，包括身體無法適應是項活動、不聽指示或嚴重違反安全守則的人仕，採取終止其參與或驅逐出場的行動。一切已付費用，不會退還。
2. 參與本族任何活動的人仕，必須自行購買相關保險。本族不會對任何訓練 、考試或其他活動負上風險責任，亦不會作出任何賠償。
3. 本族有權因應天氣、場地、參與人員水平質素等等理由，臨時對活動計畫作出適應調整，所有參與人仕不得異議。
4. 所有活動費用，包括訓練和考試費用，必須在活動展開前完全交付，方可參與。
5. 所有參加考試的人仕必須自我攜帶合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加考試，否則本族有權基於安全理由而拒絕其參與考試；一切已付費用，不會退還。
6. 本族歡迎所有參加訓練或其他活動的人仕自攜合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加是項活動。本族有權基於安全理由而拒絕任何人仕使用不合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加本族活動。
7. 本族所有考試均是公開試，無需接受本族訓練才能報名，歡迎任何人仕參與。
8. 本族所有考試均可越級自由報考，無需序漸進由低考上。
9. 本族有權於日後任何時間按照當時合理需要而添加其他條款，所有參與人仕必須完全遵守。
攀爬一族 訓練及活動 2008年時間表

日期
訓練及活動
地點
參加人數
教練：學員
人數
費用HK$
(本族族人)
費用HK$
(其他人仕)
3月15日
攀爬訓練班：修行族 中級
A/B
5 -15 人
1：5
600
700
3月29日
攀爬訓練班：修行族 中級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
600
700
4月5日
攀爬復習班：修行族 中級
A/B
5 - 20人
1：10
400
500
4月12日
攀爬考試班：修行族 中級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
400
500
4月20日
第二屆香港攀爬同樂日
A
不限
---
0
0
4月26日
攀爬訓練班：修行族 高級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
800
900
5月24日
攀爬訓練班：修行族 高級
A/B




5月31日
攀爬復習班：修行族 中/高級
A/B
5 - 20人
1：10
400/500
500/600
6月7日
攀爬考試班：修行族 中/高級
A/B
5 - 10人
1：5
400/500
500/600
6月14日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 初級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
1200
1300
7月12日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 初級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5


7月19日
攀爬復習班：修行/康體族 中,高/初級
A/B
5 - 20人
1：10
400/500/800
500/600/900
7月26日
攀爬考試班：修行/康體族 中,高/初級
A/B
5 - 10人
1：5
400/500/800
500/600/900
8月2日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 中級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
1800
1900
8月16日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 中級
A/B




8月23日
攀爬復習班：修行/康體族 中,高/初,中級
A/B
5 - 20人
1：10
400/500/800/900
500/600/900/1000
8月30日
攀爬考試班：修行/康體族 中,高/初,中級
A/B
5 - 10人
1：5
400/500/800/900
500/600/900/1000
9月13日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 高級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
2100
2200
9月20日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 高級
A/B




9月27日
攀爬復習班：修行/康體族 中,高/初,中,高級
A/B
5 - 20人
1：10
400/500/800/900/1000
500/600/900/1000/1100
10月11日
攀爬考試班：修行/康體族 中,高/初,中,高級
A/B
5 - 10人
1：5
400/500/800/900/1000
500/600/900/1000/1100
11月8日
攀爬訓練班：修行族 中級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
600
700
11月15日
攀爬復習班：修行/康體族 中,高/初,中,高級
A/B
5 - 20人
1：10
400/500/800/900/1000
500/600/900/1000/1100
11月22日
攀爬考試班：修行/康體族 中,高/初,中,高級
A/B
5 - 10人
1：5
400/500/800/900/1000
500/600/900/1000/1100
12月29日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 高級
A/B
5 - 15人
1：5
2100
2200
12月13日
攀爬訓練班：康體族 高級
A/B




12月20日
攀爬考試班：修行/康/體族 中,高/初,中,高級
A/B
5 - 10人
1：5
400/500/800/900/1000
500/600/900/1000/1100



註：

a. 上述地點 A = 上水馬會道17號鳳溪第一中學, B = 上水金錢村金錢路22B歐亞園藝9090 6719, 活動地點可按實際要求而自由更換或改變，詳情會於報名後，及開班前三天左右個別通知。
b. 活動時間均為9am至5pm，除非因特别原因而需另行通告。
c. 報名截止時間在活動日期前5天，如因滿額或人數不足未能開班之時，已付款者可選擇退款，或 報讀 / 報考 另一班。
d. ISA樹藝師可於參加本族訓練班時取得相應CEU。
e. 本族可以按照市場要求而另外設計上述或其他訓練課程來滿足個別要求。
f. ‘結構性修剪’, ‘樹木檢查’,‘樹木風險評估’, ‘空中拯救’, ‘鏈鋸使用’, ‘初、中、高級流纜’ 、‘攀樹師牌照’、‘樹藝師牌照’ 及其他樹藝知識訓練將會於合適時間推出。

注意事項：

1. 本族有權對任何參加本族訓練或考試的人仕，包括身體無法適應是項活動、不聽指示或嚴重違反安全守則的人仕，採取終止其參與或驅逐出場的行動。一切已付費用，不會退還。
2. 參與本族任何活動的人仕，必須自行購買相關保險。本族不會對任何訓練和考試負上風險責任，亦不會作出任何賠償。
3. 本族有權因應天氣、場地、參與人員水平質素等等理由，臨時對活動計畫作出適應調整，所有參與人仕不得異議。
4. 所有活動費用，包括訓練和考試費用，必須在活動展開前完全交付，方可參與。
5. 所有參加考試的人仕必須自我攜帶合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加考試，否則本族有權基於安全理由而拒絕其參與考試；一切已付費用，不會退還。
6. 本族歡迎所有參加訓練或其他活動的人仕自攜合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加是項活動。本族有權基於安全理由而拒絕任何人仕使用不合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加本族活動。
7. 本族所有考試均是公開試，無需接受本族訓練才能報名，歡迎任何人仕參與。
8. 本族所有考試均可越級自由報考，無需序漸進由低考上。
9. 本族有權於日後任何時間按照當時合理需要而添加其他條款，所有參與人仕必須完全遵守。

(請參閱下列報名表)

TCHK 攀爬一族 訓練班及考試報名申請表

(請 加入資料 或 刪除不適用者)

1
中文姓名：

2
英文姓名：

3
出生日期：

年

月

日
4
族號(如有)：

5
工作機構：

6
職位：

7
電郵或傳真：

8
手提電話：

9
訓練/考試日期：

10
現報讀班別：
修行族 / 康體族 / 精英族 --- 初級 / 中級 / 高級 之 訓練 / 復習
其他：
11
現報考級別：
修行族 / 康體族 / 精英族 : 初級 / 中級 / 高級
其他：
12
緊急聯絡人：
姓名： 手提電話：
12
已考獲的TCHK証書或其他樹藝專業資格：

13
如因滿額或人數不足未能開班之時，我選擇：
1. 退款。我的銀行是： (銀行名稱)
賬號：
2. 轉為報讀 / 報考 於 年 月 日 所舉行的課程 / 考試。
14
填表日期：

15
聲明：
本人已細閱本表的下述條款，並同意所有有關細節，並無異議。





報名辦法：

請於填妥上述申請表後，在報名截止日期之前將有關費用轉賬至:

中國銀行賬號: 019 - 590 - 1 - 063827 - 1

然後將收據寫上姓名、參加項目及項目開始日期，再電郵至egc@netvigator.com ，或傳真至 2679 5338，本會將會回答通知。

查詢電話：9090 6719 歐先生 或 電郵至egc@netvigator.com

注意事項：

1. 如因天氣、人數不足、場地、教練或其他人力不可抗拒的問題出現之時，以上的活動安排可能會因應當時情況而另作安排。
2. 本族有權對任何參加本族訓練或考試的人仕，包括身體無法適應是項活動、不聽指示或嚴重違反安全守則的人仕，採取終止其參與或驅逐出場的行動。一切已付費用，不會退還。
3. 參與本族任何活動的人仕，必須自行購買相關保險。本族不會對任何訓練、考試或其他活動負上風險責任，亦不會作出任何賠償。
4. 所有活動費用，包括訓練和考試費用，必須在活動展開前完全交付，方可參與。
5. 所有參加考試的人仕必須自我攜帶合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加考試，否則本族有權基於安全理由而拒絕其參與考試；一切已付費用，不會退還。
6. 本族歡迎所有參加訓練或其他活動的人仕自攜合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加是項活動。本族有權基於安全理由而拒絕任何人仕使用不合乎CE或ANSI規格的PPE及攀樹裝備來參加本族活動。
7. 本族所有考試均是公開試，無需接受本族訓練才能報名，歡迎任何人仕參與。
8. 本族所有考試均可越級自由報考，無需序漸進由低考上。
9. 本族有權於日後任何時間按照當時合理需要而添加其他條款，所有參與人仕必須完全遵守。
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

本會專用欄：

1. 表格編號：T / E no.
2. 訓練/考試日期：
3. 批准：Y / N
4. 其他：

ISA HK/China --- 2008 Brisbane ISA Conference

Dear Station Members,

Please kindly note the Station Manager has already arranged for the air travel to the Brisbane ISA Conference as per attached. Those who would like to come along please try to follow the same travel schedule as much as possible, although it is already known that direct flight between HK & Brisbane on these two dates are already sold out. One can still fly en-route.

This ISA Inaugural Asia Pacific Conference (http://isaac.org.au/files/event/ISA%20Asia%20Pacific%20Conference%202008%20flyer.pdf) is an event specifically designed for the Asian Region which is growing young on tree care, with selected topics on Tree Survey, Tree Inspection, Risk Assessment, Wood Decay & Tree Failure. All education are appropriate to our knowledge development & can not be obtained locally from such an array of international speakers & workshops gathered in one spot. This opportunity is not to be missed by any Arborist or landscaper who would like to advance their knowledge & network with the world.

This Station would recommend our Certified Arborists, Tree Climbers, Tree Inspectors, Landscape Designers & anyone wanting to advance their knowledge to the cutting edge, to come along to this conference to share with the world. The same category of experts will be there form other parts of Asia & Australasia to communicate their knowledge. If you think you are up to the challenge, come along.

Please contact this Station if anyone has any queries with regard to this important Inaugural Conference for our region.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

CUGE --- Urban Soil Workshop by Dr. James Urban

Dear Station Members,

ISA HK/China is privileged to be invited to attend a professional workshop by the internationally famous Dr. James Urban of USA at CUGE in Singapore. Dr. Urban is an internationally renowned landscape practitioner & he has produced many influential books & lectures in urban soil & tree planting. His rare presence in Asia is a golden opportunity for our practitioners & scholars to learn & share experience with him. This is a rare opportunity not to be missed by the serious.

Please follow the information below to register into this workshop directly at CUGE, for anyone interested.

Thank you for your kind attention.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager


----- Original Message -----
From: Fook Chyi YONG
To: egc@netvigator.com
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 8:32 AM
Subject: Fw: CUGE Professional Workshop - Up By Roots - Healthy Soils and Trees in the Built Environment by Dr James Urban

Dear Sammy,

We will be engaging Dr James Urban to conduct a Professional Workshop Series on Up By Roots - Healthy Soils and Trees in the Built Environment for 2 sessions. The first session is on 17-18 Mar 08 and the second session is on 20-21 Mar 08.

Dr James Urban recalled fondly your conversations with him when both of you met at the ISA Conference in Hawaii and suggested that you be kept informed of this workshop as you and your team had shown interest. Pse see the broadcast mailer on the workshop. We look forward to the participation from the HK/China/Taiwan practitioners. You cld also access the same mailer on the CUGE website:

http://www.cuge.com.sg/component/option,com_eventcal/task,event/date,1205712000/eventid,24/Itemid,1/

Cheers.

Yong Fook Chyi
§ Assistant Director (Manpower Development)/ Industry Division § National Parks Board
§ Tel: +65 646 27301
§ Fax: +65 646 95332

Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. Please notify the sender immediately if you receive this in error.

§ Check out our website at http://www.nparks.gov.sg

CUGE-ARB-7005 CUGE Professional Workshop Series -Up By Roots - Healthy Soils and Trees in the Built Environment 01/08 and 02/08

Register with: Mr Martin Hoo, T: 6462 7311 E: Martin_Hoo@cuge.com.sg

ABOUT CUGE:

The Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) is managed by the National Parks Board.CUGE is the Lead National Training Institution of the Landscape Workforce.

OUR VISION : To be a Regional Centre for advancing and sharing knowledge and expertise in urban greenery and ecology to enhance urban living environment.

ABOUT Arboriculture Management Programmes:

CUGE provides comprehensive skills training programmes for tree care practitioners, to enhance their knowledge and expertise and to prepare them for the Certified Arborist professional certification accredited with the International Society of Arboriculture.

CUGE provides training and development opportunities for Certified Arborists to seek Continuing Education Units for professional re-certification.

INTRODUCTION:

The specially designed 2-day course is facilitated by Dr James Urban. This course focus on issues and challenges of urban space design and the use of soils. This course incorporates a critique and discussion on site tours to flesh out issues, challenges and resolutions to landscape project implementation.

This course is accredited with the International Society of Arboriculture and Certified Arborists will be accredited with 16 CEU points.

TOPICS:-

Overview of urban trees and soils- Soil Science- Urban soils in Singapore and soils testing and assessment- Field soil investigation techniques- Tree biology- Site tours for critique and discussions in implementation issues and challenges- Up By Roots - Conclusion on healthy soils and trees in urban spaces.

METHODOLOGY:

Facilitated discussions and site tours

WHO SHOULD ATTEND- Certified Arborists- Landscape Project Supervisors and Managers- Landscape Practitioners- Soils Practitioners

TRAINER:

Dr James Urban is an acclaimed expert in landscape architecture, urban architecture and urban soils. He specialises in the design of trees and soils in urban spaces. Dr James Urban has written and lectured extensively on the subject of urban tree planting and has been responsible for the introduction of many innovations including most of the current standards relating to urban tree plantings. He was instrumental in the development of structural cells and structural planting soils for use under sidewalk pavements, micro root paths and macro soil trench technqiues.

TRAINING DETAILS :

Training :17-18 March 2008, 20-21 March 2008

Time: 8.30am – 5.30pm

Venue: CUGE Training Rooms at Horticulture Park, Alexandra Road; CUGE Training Rooms at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Fees: $1,073.73 (exclusive of GST) per trainee (terms and conditions apply)10% privilege discount for all SLIC Association Members (LIAS, SILA, IPR, Golf Club Managers’ Association, FAS). Fees includes provision of training materials and equipment, and tea-breaks.

Closing Date: 1 March 2008 for training starting on 17 March 2008 and 20 March 2008

ABOUT CUGE CUSTOMISED TRAINING PROGRAMMES:

CUGE can customise skills training and certification programmes to meet the training needs of your organisation and workforce.

Call us at +65 64650288 or email us at ASKCUGE@cuge.com.sg to provide us with more details and to set up a discussion. We will be glad to be of service to you.

Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE)National Parks Board Headquarters (Raffles Building)Singapore Botanic Gardens1 Cluny RoadSingapore 259569Tel: 6465 0288 Fax: 6763 6317 e: AskCUGE@cuge.com.sgWebsite: http://www.cuge.com.sg/

ISA HK/China --- ISA 2007 Glossary translation (Traditional Chinese version)

*** 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,

A few months ago, ISA HK/China has taken on the mission to translate the ISA Glossary 2007 (Traditional Chinese Version) from ISA HQ as an important step to develop proper tree care in our territory of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China. From this Traditional Chinese Version, our Mainland experts can easily convert it into a Simplified Chinese Version for the benefits of our brothers & sisters in China & South East Asia.

Key members in TCHK & the Station Manager have been actively involved in this translation. We wish to produce a prototype for open discussion in our public Station Mail for our scholars, researchers, practitioners & anybody to input their expertise to make this translation to be as widely acceptable in our territory as possible. There may be no need to emphasize the importance of this translation because all future ISA translations, including exam questions & training, will base on this information. In fact, right after the submission of our agreed version to ISA HQ later, the Station Manager will have to work alone to translate all CTW written exam questions within a designated time frame, so that the CTW program can begin again in our territory. Then there may be the CA exam questions to think about in time to come too. The work may be never-ending.

Therefore, with great enthusiasm from ISA HK/China, all capable Station Members are requested to review the attached draft translation & comment on it when necessary. Please kindly provide your input in a different colour to the existing writing for recognition. ISA HK/China will be most grateful if your contribution can be received before March 15, 2008. After that date, this Station will organise all entries & submit to ISA HQ for their further work.

This translation will mark a milestone in the development of Modern Arboriculture in our vast territory. No work of such magnitude has ever happened before in our local arboriculture for the benefit of our society. With a proper Glossary in our own language, we can begin to translate training & exam materials to expand proper tree care for the benefit of the unknown. According to our estimation, perhaps around 5% of the 1.3 billion population in China have the ability to understand English to the level required in the Certified Arborist/Certified Tree Worker exam. The rest will have to take it in Chinese once we can properly translate them. With China now craving for international credentials to fight for job & promotion, sky is the limit for development in this aspect. All these will hinge upon our Glossary translation.

We wish to thank in advance for anyone wishing to take part in this voluntary exercise. Once set, it can not be easily changed again without massive convulsion in future. Therefore, any early reply will be much much appreciated.

Our sincere thanks indeed to all the capable.

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/)

ISA HK/China --- Our Station is 3 years old

*** 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,

By the time this message is issued, the ISA HK/China Station is already 3 years old.

We have seen tremendous changes in our Station in the last 3 years, from the membership of 1 no. to the current + 580 no. Station Mail covers a geographic region from Japan to New Zealand in the Pacific Rim & Station Blog is even more far reaching to many countries in the world (http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s38290992&r=83). Our last Certified Arborist (CA) exam was housing 80 no. of candidates, & the number of our CA has reached 84 no. by Dec 2007. Half of our CA work in various Govt Depts spreading influence, & TCHK was set up as an extension of our Station to attract Chinese speaking population to learn tree climbing & Arborist work. The translation of the ISA Glossary is near completion for final review in open Station Mail & ISA has become a household name in our landscape industry. Our team of Proctors & CTW Evaluators are under expansion to prepare for future advancement into China & ETF is firmly established with quality trees grown to international requirement to show our brothers & sisters . ISA HK/China has indeed grown from insignificance to something giving impact in our community within rather a relatively short time.

Success of our Station, whether in our communication or other activities, may lie in the fact that we have interpreted complicated knowledge of Arboriculture & translated them into laymen term for the understanding of our public, with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling in reality with our local situation. It has been touching & relevant to our supporters, many of whom are genuine tree lovers. We also have a simple & efficient structure which is able to make quick & responsive decision without much complication. Our core team of CA Family is united & understanding, something of an envy to other organizations which are having meeting after meeting to eternity. It is this kind of efficient administration which makes ISA HK/China grow with speed & stability.

The quality of our Station Membership is also encouraging. The last count has given a + 60% being a Degree Holder, with approx. 50% having a Master Degree of some kind. We have landscape architects, engineers, lawyers, doctors, professors, architects..... all the way down to housewives & students in our categories, making us one of the most diversified greenery group in HK. Approx. 40% of our Station Members are Civil Servants of various ranks & we have Station Members from 12 Govt Depts joining.

One word worthy to mention here is that anyone joining ISA HK/China is out of a personal capacity & does not represent any organization or Dept. All views collected are out of a personal nature & not representative of any organization or body.

Our Govt are currently seen as the biggest supporter for proper tree care in HK & our Station. The Station Manager has been invited to provide arbor seminars to several Govt Depts & is lecturing Tree Supervision at CITA. Govt Depts have also introduced professional capacity like Independent Tree Specialist & Competent Person for tree work. Some Depts are beginning to require an Arborist Report for regular tree maintenance & pruning. For work near Old & Valuable Trees, it is more or less mandatory to have Arborist supervision to ensure governance. Different arbor training programs are also being designed & envisaged by the Govt to help upbring the tree care standard in our community.

On the other hand, this Station feels that we still have to devote much work on the public sector to entice their attention for proper tree care, after our continuous effort to approach them. Not even one invitation has been received by this Station from any group after our many mail to them for seminars. It appears ironical that the public are shouting for better tree care constantly but would not approach the Arborists for it. Then may we ask where they think they can get better ??

So far so good for our knowledge propagation in our society, on the other hand & maybe sadly, not much positive action on the execution side can be detected by this Station with regard to tree work & maintenance in overall terms besides reduction in tree topping. Tree selection & specifications have hardly changed, & pruning with Crown Raising still seems to be the preferred method after topping. Trees are still transplanted with undersized rootballs & nursery trees in many development appeared to have no change in quality as compared to the past. What this Station worries is that our tree care practice would become like Opium Smoking in old time China. Everyone knew it was bad but everyone went on doing it, until the gunboats appeared. We have regular typhoons in HK every year. Our gunboats are the typhoons.

Comparing to massive China, HK should be able to sail like a speedboat to develop proper tree care with an efficient Govt & clean administrative system. Some may say we are already moving too fast but our trees are maturing equally quickly. Do we need another event of thousands of trees failing before we blame on 'Act of God' again & never on ourselves? Are our taxpayers money well spent by carrying on the old way & do we meet up with public expectation whenever we can? There are indeed questions that we can ask ourselves.

HK can & will influence China in tree care. If HK can move ahead with better trees, China would peek & follow. China is a green site as far as international arboriculture is concerned. There is still not even one indigenous Certified Arborist or Certified Tree Climber in China up to date among the 1.3 billion population. China may be waiting for HK to lead them.

3 years have passed & this Station has tasted initial success. However, there is no time for complacency & the road ahead is long & winding. After HK if accomplished, we have Macau, Taiwan & China waiting for us. We need joint & group efforts to carry on improve our trees locally & to lead our brothers & sisters up north. It may become a lifetime mission for some of us.

May we work together to improve the quality of our trees, & thus the standard of living in our community, one tree at a time & one place at a time.

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/)

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Chainsaw Accident on Fishtail Palm)

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/)

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

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)

ISA HK/China --- Rooftop Tree Planting

*** 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,

HK has practised for years to carry out tree planting on rooftop including the common Podium Planting. Its main objective is to provide greenery for aesthetic purpose & environmental benefits. It is usually done due to lack of ground space for planting after structure development. There are also late recommendation for rooftop planting to cool our city, although this Station has provided comments on such practice some months ago.

For any tree planting on roof, one major factor that the Arborist would need to consider is wind loading. HK has typhoons & it is known that the higher the ground, the stronger would be the wind there. If tall species are chosen for planting on rooftop, the risk of it being blown over can be significant, contour depending. Common staking with guy wires would not hold a tree in typhoon due to the small soil friction offered by such devices. On the other hand, if the guys are stronger than the pull, the trunk or branches would be snapped off in strong wind, completely destroying the tree.

The other factor that the Arborist would need to consider would be the root temperature while planting on a roof. If the roof where the planting area is situated is not adequately insulated against temperature fluctuation, the temperature of the planting medium can become similar to the ambient air temperature. That may mean in winter time when the air is below 5 Celsius on a very cold day, the roots of the tree would also be at around 5 Celsius which would be unfavourable when compared to the same tree planted in the ground. Ground would offer a better buffer in temperature changes than on the roof.

On the other hand, on a very hot summer day when the air temperature is over 33 Celsius, the planter wall or growing medium may absorb heat to further warm up the roots inside to a temperature maybe higher than 40 Celsius, at least partially or on a gradient. Again, would tree roots enjoy growing in such exceeding temperature? Probably not for most species.

Another factor affecting the success of tree planting on roof would be the competition for water & nutrients between tree roots & roots of other smaller plants planted around them. A typical design in HK would be stuffing shrubs & groundcovers next to trees in podium planting, disregarding the competition between the roots of the various species. Success sometimes would base on trial & error. If the tree wins, that's would be good luck for it & bad luck for the smaller plants underneath. However, the tree does not always win.

It can now be seen that any successful tree planting on rooftop depends on a varieties of criteria. It is always Mother Nature Makes the Rules, not us for any successful planting. If a tree is not designed, planted, maintained, inspected & risk managed properly, it is likely to become a liability rather than an asset, no matter where it is planted.

Then would we call the tree planting on rooftop as shown in the attachment seen commonly in HK any success? If even for now, then would be for how long??

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/)