Dear Station Members,
Underneath is the latest ISA Australia Chapter (ISAAC) e-news given to our region. Inside is a special preview on the Speakers of the May 8 Brisbane ISA Conference at which ISA HK/China will send in a group of no less than 13 participants (8 tree climbers to compete or support at the ATCC, & another 5 persons reported of going to ISA HK/China. No news has been received of which of our Govt Depts is going, although some said they may attend ...).
All ISA Conferences by tradition are serious education & networking known in ISA history of 84 years. In them, the latest research & practices are discussed & information from different regions is exchanged. Arborists are practitioners & talking with fantasy will not please most of them. They want to see things working with objectives attained, & not just talk, talk & talk. This is the attitude that makes Arborists such a distinctive profession accepted in the greenery industry around the world.
The Brisbane Conference will focus on knowledge relevant to our region such as tree inspection, tree pathology, risk assessment & tree failures which our region is aiming to improve. ISA HK/China hopes to bring back updates to educate our professionals so that our trees can become assets to our community rather than liabilities. Further announcement on this may be given later on.
ISA HK/China looks forward to participate & learn hard at the Brisbane Conference in about one week's time.
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
----- Original Message -----
From: ISAAC E-news
To: enews@isaac.org.au
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 4:15 PM
Subject: ISAAC Enews #39 - ISA Asia Pacific Conference - SPEAKER PREVIEW
Visit the ISAAC Website http://isaac.org.au - Now with live tree news from around Australia!If you're not a member of the ISAAC E-news mailing list, you can join it at http://isaac.org.au/news/news.htm. It's free and you don't have to be a member of ISAAC.
****** ISA Asia Pacific Conference FILLING FAST ******
ISA Asia Pacific Conference - May 9-14, Brisbane, Australia. Interest is strong and more workshops and hotels are booked out. You will regret missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this diverse range of speakers. See below for a sample of speaker biographies and abstracts.Register online at the ISAAC Online Shop to avoid disappointment, or go to the ISAAC Website http://isaac.org.au for more details.
Ted Green:
Ted, a founder member of the Ancient Tree Forum, travels world wide to raise the profile of ancient trees.Ted grew up on the edge of Windsor Great Park, home to some of the finest ancient trees in Europe and many have been special to him from childhood. He is a consultant to the Crown Estates there.Ted has worked on plant pathology at London University. He is a regular writer and broadcaster and campaignstirelessly to make sure that we understand why these trees are special and to encourage anyone who will listen to take action on their behalf.Veteran Tree Management and Conservation or Growing downwards: what can we learn fromancient trees and the natural aging process‘An oak tree grows for 300 years, rests for 300 years and then spends the next 300 years gracefully expiring’. Hence the phrase ‘growing downwards’.Growing downwards was a concept developed by the Ancient Tree Forum, a group of Europe-wide specialists andexperts made up of primarily professional arborists, foresters, historians and conservationists. They are concerned about the continued loss of Europe’s old trees.Studying the way old trees age has provided so many insights into how trees grow naturally to maturity, rest andthen decline. This has led to some methods of management preventing collapse such as retrenchment pruningespecially in the management of 1000s of old pollard trees that remain in the UK and other limited parts of Europe.The essential role of decay fungi in the hollowing process has led to the phrase: ‘the co-evolutionary relationshipbetween trees and fungi’. Words such as disease and fungal attack are now disappearing from the arborist’svocabulary.Recognising the fundamental role of other groups of fungi in tree health and longevity, has led to the management and retention of dead standing and fallen trees and they are now much more common in the landscape.
Ken James :
Ken James is an engineer at the University of Melbourne, Australia and has been investigating tree biomechanics and dynamic wind forces on trees for ten years. He currently is conducting research into tree dynamics and has developed new instruments that can measure the wind loads on trees during storms. He has presented papers at the many international conferences including ISA Conferences in America, Tree biomechanics Conference, Savannah, 2001, European Arboricultural Conferences in Maastricht and Oslo, Australia and New Zealand. He has published several papers on tree biomechanics and is currently developing a dynamic structural model to describe tree movement and loads in high winds. Other research interests include structural loads in tree cables and measurement of internal growth stresses in living trees.Tree BiomechanicsThe mechanical properties of trees is being studied to assess the structural strength and stability under a range of conditions. Understanding the structural properties of trees is fundamental to understanding how trees adapt and survive in their environment. Two methods are used, i.e. statics and dynamics. Static tree pull tests apply forces with ropes to simulate wind loading. Dynamic wind measurements are giving us a different understanding of how trees withstand high winds.Tree dynamics and WindHow trees withstand wind forces is being studied using new instruments that monitor the tree under wind stormconditions. Dynamic analysis is providing information on the forces that impact a tree. This information is being used to assess the stability of trees. Recent wind storms in Melbourne are discussed with some case studies that report on wind loading and the assessment of strength.
Dr David Lonsdale:
Dr David Lonsdale is a consultant, author and educator, specialising in the biology, pathology and mechanicalintegrity of trees. After studying at the universities of Southampton and Manchester, he worked for the BritishForestry Commission for 26 years before going freelance in 2002. His research has involved tree diseases and decay, including the role of latent stress dependent fungi. His many publications include “Principles of Tree Hazard Assessment and Management” (1999). He received the Annual Award of the Arboricultural Association in 1999 and an award for Advancement of Knowledge of Arboriculture from the ISA (UK & Ireland Chapter) in 2001.Tree-related hazards: recognition and assessmentA tendency to fall or to shed parts is the main cause for concern about tree-related hazards from trees. Otherhazards, which will not be mentioned further here, relate to obstruction, poisoning, damage to structures caused by tree growth and subsidence or heave of the ground, related to water uptake by tree roots.Everyone with a responsibility for tree safety should be able to recognise signs that may indicate a potential formechanical failure. Someone with specialist skills and knowledge should, if necessary, inspect such signs in moredetail and assess their significance. Options for conducting general and detailed inspections will be discussed here, with reference to the main signs of potential hazard; these can be summarised as follows:Structural ‘defects’ • Bark inclusions (especially at branch unions)• Cracking/splitting of various kinds• Branch subsidence• Crossing and abrading branchesPotential sites of decay initiation• Wounds from pruning or branch failure• Dysfunctional wood in the centre of the root plates of old trees• Bark wounds, above or below ground• Dead branchesSigns of possible weakness due to decay• Cavities• Dead branches• Exposed, decayed wood• Fruiting of decay fungi (often indicating no more than a need for investigation!)There is much interest in devices for aiding the internal mapping of decay, but these should used only by those with a good understanding of the spatial patterns of decay development, both above and below ground. They should in particular be able to interpret the significance of different types of wounds (e.g. wounds that involve only bark loss or wounds that expose sapwood and/or heartwood or ripewood). They should also understand the tendency for coalescence to occur between decay columns arising from a number of wounds.Structurally weak attachments weakened further by decay• Signs of decay at or near included bark unions• Coppice re-growth on decaying stumps• New growth from positions of previous topping or pollardingSite related information• Soil type and hydrology and hence rooting depth (for the tree species concerned)• Cohesion of soil• Topography (especially regarding steep slopes)Past failure of the tree or of similar trees nearby• Signs of past failure that can be observed during inspection• Types of failure that have been documented (or anecdotally noted by local residents).
Dr Elizabeth Philip:
Dr Elizabeth Philip is currently a Senior Research Officer with the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM). During her 17 years tenure here, she has spearheaded about eight research and development projects dealing with arboriculture and forestry issues. Amongst the issues addressed in arboriculture are growth and development of urban trees, abiotic factors affecting tree growth and urban trees in mitigating changing weather and climatic change.She is a certified arborist by the ISA. In improving the arboricutural practices in Malaysia, she has developed aprotocol for monitoring tree vitality and detection tree heath decline.Dr Philip has published more than 25 papers in referred journals and presented more than 100 working papers. In addition, she sits in a number of technical committees as well.Environmental Influence on the Growth and Development of TreesE.Philip and Y.Noor AzlinForest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), 52 109 Kepong, Selangor, MalaysiaMan’s fast paced development has brought about secondary problems like increased pollution, degradation of theenvironment and affected human well-being. The call for combating further environmental degradation has been discussed in many international fora and resulted in Conventions like Biological Diversity and United NationFramework on Climate Change Convention and others. The call for more public parks, green space and conservation of biological resources is getting greater attention in light with the changing climatic scenarios.This paper will highlight the different environmental influence on tree growth. The influence of water stress,temporary flooding, and soil compaction on the growth of urban trees will be discussed. In addition, environmental services provided by urban trees in Malaysia would be also be discussed. Amongst the services provided are natural biological air filters to air pollution and therapeutic. In addition, they acts filter to reduce the heat-island effects in urban areas. Besides, it is a good platform for inter-cultural activities while preserving each identity. Man has very strong linkages with nature and is reflected in the daily activities of our forefathers. Cities and towns have been named after plants.Remember to forward this to other tree care professionals that may find this useful.
ISAAC's Internet policy prohibits spam so please only distribute ISAAC E-news to those with a genuine interest.
ISAAC MembershipMembership of ISAAC links you to the professional world of practicing arborists and tree managers in Australia. As a member you get discounted entry to ISAAC events, discounts on books and business insurance, as well as the locally produced newsletter 'The Bark'. Full ISA Members also get the ISA's publications 'Journal of Arboriculture' and 'Arborist News'. Membership supports the continued growth in professionalism of arboriculture in Australia. Now is the time to join. If you already are a member, now is the time to recruit someone else.
You can download a membership form right now - http://isaac.org.au/members/join.htm"join online.
If you're looking for great information to pass on to your clients, check out the ISA's new website, Trees Are Good, dedicated to providing tree care information for the general public http://www.treesaregood.org
Do you have a question or comment? You can send your query online at our http://isaac.org.au/contact.htm If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe, please see the instructions on our website http://isaac.org.au/news/news.htm.
Contents of this newsletter are provided for information only and the International Society of Arboriculture, Australia Chapter takes no responsibility for loss or damage resulting from its use. ISA, ISAAC and associated logos are for use by members of the ISA and ISAAC only. (c) 2008 International Society of Arboriculture Australia Chapter Ltd. ABN 77 090 873 644.
_______________________________________________enews mailing listenews@isaac.org.auhttp://isaac.org.au/mailman/listinfo/enews_isaac.org.au
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
ISA HK/China --- Informal Dinner to welcome ISA Certification and Membership Directors
Dear ISA HK/China Station Members & TCHK Members,
ISA HK/China jointly with TCHK are privileged to organize an Informal Dinner to welcome our ISA Certification Director Mr. Derek Vannice, & our ISA Membership Director Mr. Eric Duchinsky, with details as follows:
Date: Saturday May 3, 2008
Time: Seminar starting at 6.30 pm, Dinner starting at 7.30 pm. Vegetarians should have no problem attending this dinner as we try to order as much vegetables as possible. 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: The latest development in ISA for credentials & membership internationally. Chinese translation will be provided to any participant not speaking English.
CEU: 1 CEU will be given to any CA participating.
Please kindly note this is a rare opportunity for our Station Members to meet face to face with ISA staff to discuss on any issue of interest for our development. Derek is in charge of all our exams & credentials. Derek will answer any question of yours with regard to ISA credentials locally & overseas. Eric is in charge of ISA membership & he will explain the benefits of being an ISA member as well as membership development around the globe. ISA is developing fast in our region & this event is not an opportunity to be missed by any of our Station Members, ISA joining or not, for update on ISA activities around the globe & in our region. All our CA's & CTW's are requested to come to show your support. .
This invitation is also extended to CAHK, GAIA, KFBG, hktree.com & others for their members to consider to come to meet our ISA Directors in this memorable occasion.
Thank you for your kind attention & please send in your booking at your earliest convenience.
best regards,
Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
TCHK Chieftain
ISA HK/China jointly with TCHK are privileged to organize an Informal Dinner to welcome our ISA Certification Director Mr. Derek Vannice, & our ISA Membership Director Mr. Eric Duchinsky, with details as follows:
Date: Saturday May 3, 2008
Time: Seminar starting at 6.30 pm, Dinner starting at 7.30 pm. Vegetarians should have no problem attending this dinner as we try to order as much vegetables as possible. 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: The latest development in ISA for credentials & membership internationally. Chinese translation will be provided to any participant not speaking English.
CEU: 1 CEU will be given to any CA participating.
Please kindly note this is a rare opportunity for our Station Members to meet face to face with ISA staff to discuss on any issue of interest for our development. Derek is in charge of all our exams & credentials. Derek will answer any question of yours with regard to ISA credentials locally & overseas. Eric is in charge of ISA membership & he will explain the benefits of being an ISA member as well as membership development around the globe. ISA is developing fast in our region & this event is not an opportunity to be missed by any of our Station Members, ISA joining or not, for update on ISA activities around the globe & in our region. All our CA's & CTW's are requested to come to show your support. .
This invitation is also extended to CAHK, GAIA, KFBG, hktree.com & others for their members to consider to come to meet our ISA Directors in this memorable occasion.
Thank you for your kind attention & please send in your booking at your earliest convenience.
best regards,
Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
TCHK Chieftain
Monday, April 14, 2008
ISA HK/China --- CAP 509 OSHO laws on Chainsaw Safety
*** 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 Station Manager recently received a Top Handle Chainsaw as a gift from a friend after helping him with a tree assessment event. Then it was customary for him to study the Operating Manuel of any power tool upon arrival to make sure all details of the tool were understood before use.
It was stated clearly in the Manuel that "This special chainsaw may be used only by persons trained in tree surgery & maintenance techniques". The same precaution was noticed by the Station Manager on the Manuals of the other 4 Chainsaws that he possessed of various sizes in the past.
Chainsaw is one of the most dangerous tools for tree work in the world. There have been over 30,000 industrial accidents involving chainsaws in North America every year in the past 5 years. ISA HK/China has also reported several chainsaw accidents which happened locally from the media in the past. The Station Manager saw one of his former staff with two fingers cut off in operating a chainsaw carelessly some years ago.
Yet chainsaw is one of Arborist's most favourite tools. Imagine trying to remove a 6 inch limb 40 feet off the ground where lifting platform can not reach which must be done by tree climbing. Would the Arborist pick a hand saw with which he would have to cut for minutes in agony while dangling up there amidst the heat & tension, or would he choose an 8 inch chainsaw where he could finish up the job in seconds? The answer is obvious enough.
It is not known that in HK where any public institutes like CICTA, VTC or horticultural training centres would provide classes on how to operate chainsaws, with tree climbing in particular, to follow international requirements. Govt Depts would offer the training but only to their own staff. TCHK (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) is planning to open classes in end May to conduct chainsaw training. In reality, there are very few tree professionals in HK experienced enough to teach chainsaws.
CAP 509 OSHO Ordinance of HK stipulates that:
Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (CAP 509) and subsidiary regulations
Detail: regulate safety and health at work of all economic activities (both industrial and non-industrial establishments). The scope has been expanded to cover offices, commercial premises, educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, laboratories and other workplaces. The legislation imposes general duty of care on employers, occupiers of premises and employees, and set down basic requirements in accident prevention, fire prevention, working environment, workplace hygiene, first aid, manual handling operation and use of display screen equipment.
Chapter: 509
Title: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ORDINANCE
Gazette Number: L.N. 230 of 1998 Section: 6
Heading: Employers to ensure safety and health of employees
Version Date: 01/06/1998
PART II : RESPONSIBILITY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES AT WORK
(1) Every employer must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety and health at work of all the employer's employees.(2) The cases in which an employer fails to comply with subsection (1) include (but are not limited to) the following-
(a) a failure to provide or maintain plant and systems of work that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;(b) a failure to make arrangements for ensuring, so far as reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances;(c) a failure to provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety and health at work of the employer's employees;(d) as regards any workplace under the employer's control-
(i) a failure to maintain the workplace in a condition that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health; or(ii) a failure to provide or maintain means of access to and egress from the workplace that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without any such risks;(e) a failure to provide or maintain a working environment for the employer's employees that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health.
(3) An employer who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200000.(4) An employer who fails to comply with subsection (1) intentionally, knowingly or recklessly commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
Although the final interpretation will be carried out in Court, it is likely that any employer not providing training & approved safety equipment in using a chainsaw may be breaching CAP 509, if accused. This will be particularly true if any chainsaw accident has occurred.
Chainsaws are believed to be used daily in our territory in landscaping work. With high exposure to such a very dangerous tool, not getting training & using approved safety equipment would be inviting troubles. While our Safety Officers require procedures & licensing in many aspects of industrial work, why should our chainsaws be a giveaway?
Would HK practise double standard for safety when it comes to chainsaws, & 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)
Dear Station Members,
The Station Manager recently received a Top Handle Chainsaw as a gift from a friend after helping him with a tree assessment event. Then it was customary for him to study the Operating Manuel of any power tool upon arrival to make sure all details of the tool were understood before use.
It was stated clearly in the Manuel that "This special chainsaw may be used only by persons trained in tree surgery & maintenance techniques". The same precaution was noticed by the Station Manager on the Manuals of the other 4 Chainsaws that he possessed of various sizes in the past.
Chainsaw is one of the most dangerous tools for tree work in the world. There have been over 30,000 industrial accidents involving chainsaws in North America every year in the past 5 years. ISA HK/China has also reported several chainsaw accidents which happened locally from the media in the past. The Station Manager saw one of his former staff with two fingers cut off in operating a chainsaw carelessly some years ago.
Yet chainsaw is one of Arborist's most favourite tools. Imagine trying to remove a 6 inch limb 40 feet off the ground where lifting platform can not reach which must be done by tree climbing. Would the Arborist pick a hand saw with which he would have to cut for minutes in agony while dangling up there amidst the heat & tension, or would he choose an 8 inch chainsaw where he could finish up the job in seconds? The answer is obvious enough.
It is not known that in HK where any public institutes like CICTA, VTC or horticultural training centres would provide classes on how to operate chainsaws, with tree climbing in particular, to follow international requirements. Govt Depts would offer the training but only to their own staff. TCHK (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/treeclimbinghk) is planning to open classes in end May to conduct chainsaw training. In reality, there are very few tree professionals in HK experienced enough to teach chainsaws.
CAP 509 OSHO Ordinance of HK stipulates that:
Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (CAP 509) and subsidiary regulations
Detail: regulate safety and health at work of all economic activities (both industrial and non-industrial establishments). The scope has been expanded to cover offices, commercial premises, educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, laboratories and other workplaces. The legislation imposes general duty of care on employers, occupiers of premises and employees, and set down basic requirements in accident prevention, fire prevention, working environment, workplace hygiene, first aid, manual handling operation and use of display screen equipment.
Chapter: 509
Title: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ORDINANCE
Gazette Number: L.N. 230 of 1998 Section: 6
Heading: Employers to ensure safety and health of employees
Version Date: 01/06/1998
PART II : RESPONSIBILITY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES AT WORK
(1) Every employer must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety and health at work of all the employer's employees.(2) The cases in which an employer fails to comply with subsection (1) include (but are not limited to) the following-
(a) a failure to provide or maintain plant and systems of work that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;(b) a failure to make arrangements for ensuring, so far as reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances;(c) a failure to provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety and health at work of the employer's employees;(d) as regards any workplace under the employer's control-
(i) a failure to maintain the workplace in a condition that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health; or(ii) a failure to provide or maintain means of access to and egress from the workplace that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without any such risks;(e) a failure to provide or maintain a working environment for the employer's employees that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health.
(3) An employer who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200000.(4) An employer who fails to comply with subsection (1) intentionally, knowingly or recklessly commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
Although the final interpretation will be carried out in Court, it is likely that any employer not providing training & approved safety equipment in using a chainsaw may be breaching CAP 509, if accused. This will be particularly true if any chainsaw accident has occurred.
Chainsaws are believed to be used daily in our territory in landscaping work. With high exposure to such a very dangerous tool, not getting training & using approved safety equipment would be inviting troubles. While our Safety Officers require procedures & licensing in many aspects of industrial work, why should our chainsaws be a giveaway?
Would HK practise double standard for safety when it comes to chainsaws, & 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)
Friday, April 11, 2008
ISA HK/China --- Absence of Sammy Au in HK from Apr 17 - 19, 2008
Dear Station Members,
Please kindly note the Station Manager will be absent in HK from Apr 17 - 19, 2008 inclusive. He will be conducting a Nursery Stocks Standards & Structural Pruning Workshop at the National Parks Boards of the Singapore Govt (Nparks) for their local & South East Asian nurserymen & landscapers during this period in Singapore.
For anyone trying to catch the Station Manager for anything (exam, training, tree inspection, risk assessment, research, conferences, tree climbing, ETF trees, overseas liaison, legal advice, tree news, etc.), please try to contact him before his departure, or after. During his stay in Singapore, maybe the only way to find him is through e-mail & that's unlikely to be during day time.
Thank you for your kind attention & understanding on this notice.
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
Please kindly note the Station Manager will be absent in HK from Apr 17 - 19, 2008 inclusive. He will be conducting a Nursery Stocks Standards & Structural Pruning Workshop at the National Parks Boards of the Singapore Govt (Nparks) for their local & South East Asian nurserymen & landscapers during this period in Singapore.
For anyone trying to catch the Station Manager for anything (exam, training, tree inspection, risk assessment, research, conferences, tree climbing, ETF trees, overseas liaison, legal advice, tree news, etc.), please try to contact him before his departure, or after. During his stay in Singapore, maybe the only way to find him is through e-mail & that's unlikely to be during day time.
Thank you for your kind attention & understanding on this notice.
best regards,
Sammy Au
Station Manager
Thursday, April 10, 2008
ISA HK/China --- 2008 Root Barriers Research
*** 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 Root Barriers research in 2008 published by ISA for your interesting information & studies.
Root barriers are increasingly used in our territory for root control especially for trees. However over the years, the Station Manager has not seen the effectiveness of the chosen root barriers to control roots of invasive species, e.g. Ficus, in our territory. He has also seen grass barriers used in place for controlling tree roots which turned out to be an expensive joke.
Most of the root barriers research around the world has been focusing on temperate tree species so far, & very little has been published on tropical species unfortunately. It is a known fact that tropical trees would grow faster, become more aggressive & more tolerant to abuses than temperate trees in their adaptation to environmental stresses. Just look at how our roadside trees are surviving is evident enough to suggest that more research should be carried on tropical trees. Unfortunately, it appears that Singapore is the only country in our region carrying out any valid research on tree care for this purpose. No research has been published internationally from HK in this area despite our resources.
Engineers & plumbers working for underground utilities have always found blocked drains by tree roots a nightmare in our territory. In our city where everyone & everything would fight for space, & with our public wanting trees wherever there is an open space, if the wrong trees are put on top of a leaking drain, even the best root barriers so available up to date may not control the problem. Tree roots would somehow find their way into the wet & cool environment created by drains. Species selection appears to be the paramount consideration, with proper pipe sealing & careful workmanship to be next.
Under current research, there appears to be no definite guidelines into how & which root barrier is best for a designated underground condition. Suggestions are flying everywhere, but it would be still up to the trail & error of the practitioners to find out what is going to work best for them. More research would go on in this topic & hopefully the future Arborists would find a way to try to deal with the ever challenging situation in the underground world.
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/)
Dear Station Members,
Attached is the latest Root Barriers research in 2008 published by ISA for your interesting information & studies.
Root barriers are increasingly used in our territory for root control especially for trees. However over the years, the Station Manager has not seen the effectiveness of the chosen root barriers to control roots of invasive species, e.g. Ficus, in our territory. He has also seen grass barriers used in place for controlling tree roots which turned out to be an expensive joke.
Most of the root barriers research around the world has been focusing on temperate tree species so far, & very little has been published on tropical species unfortunately. It is a known fact that tropical trees would grow faster, become more aggressive & more tolerant to abuses than temperate trees in their adaptation to environmental stresses. Just look at how our roadside trees are surviving is evident enough to suggest that more research should be carried on tropical trees. Unfortunately, it appears that Singapore is the only country in our region carrying out any valid research on tree care for this purpose. No research has been published internationally from HK in this area despite our resources.
Engineers & plumbers working for underground utilities have always found blocked drains by tree roots a nightmare in our territory. In our city where everyone & everything would fight for space, & with our public wanting trees wherever there is an open space, if the wrong trees are put on top of a leaking drain, even the best root barriers so available up to date may not control the problem. Tree roots would somehow find their way into the wet & cool environment created by drains. Species selection appears to be the paramount consideration, with proper pipe sealing & careful workmanship to be next.
Under current research, there appears to be no definite guidelines into how & which root barrier is best for a designated underground condition. Suggestions are flying everywhere, but it would be still up to the trail & error of the practitioners to find out what is going to work best for them. More research would go on in this topic & hopefully the future Arborists would find a way to try to deal with the ever challenging situation in the underground world.
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/)
Monday, April 7, 2008
ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Tree Climbing Accident in Yuen Long)
*** 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 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/)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
ISA HK/China --- Arborists are just Tree Men?
*** 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 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/)
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/)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Wong Tai Sin Tree Failure)
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*** 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 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/)
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/)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
ISA HK/Chia --- Introduction to IPM (Part 3 & 4)
*** 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,
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/)
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/)
Friday, March 14, 2008
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 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.
Monday, March 10, 2008
ISA HK/China --- 'The Root of the Problem' by James Urban
*** 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,
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)
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)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
ISA HK/China --- 2008 Research on the Benefits of City Trees
*** 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,
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/)
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/)
Monday, March 3, 2008
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,
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)
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)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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/)
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/)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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/)
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/)
Friday, February 22, 2008
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
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
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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。
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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：
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：
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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
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
Thursday, February 14, 2008
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 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
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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/)
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/)
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