Woodland

[RLC1947]

I have a woodland, broadleaf plantation of about 20 years of age.

 

The plan has always been to manage for wildlife and as neither me nor my partner are chainsaw trained, do the felling, pollard and coppice work with hand tools only. Something we will stick with regardless.

 

Now this is going to sound cheeky and maybe it is, but I wanted to get some sense of whether there is any mileage in the idea as follows:
 

A few years ago an arb chap I happened to end up chatting with was training his son as a tree surgeon (alongside the formal training) and he approached woodland owners to offer reduced price services to allow his son some hands on experience post qualification. Kind of like a new driver who had just passed their test still having a parent in the car with them. It went down a storm and his son gained loads of experience and confidence in the process. 

 

I’m sure you have an idea of what’s coming. Is there a need for trainee or newly qualified arborists to have access to larger wooded places, well away from any residential areas or the general public; with vehicular access, where they can be given free reign to practice their newly acquired skills (and not worry so much about doing something less than perfectly) for a nominal payment in return?

 

Shoot me down if it’s deserved!

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, RLC1947 said:

I have a woodland, broadleaf plantation of about 20 years of age.

 

The plan has always been to manage for wildlife and as neither me nor my partner are chainsaw trained, do the felling, pollard and coppice work with hand tools only. Something we will stick with regardless.

 

Now this is going to sound cheeky and maybe it is, but I wanted to get some sense of whether there is any mileage in the idea as follows:
 

A few years ago an arb chap I happened to end up chatting with was training his son as a tree surgeon (alongside the formal training) and he approached woodland owners to offer reduced price services to allow his son some hands on experience post qualification. Kind of like a new driver who had just passed their test still having a parent in the car with them. It went down a storm and his son gained loads of experience and confidence in the process. 

 

I’m sure you have an idea of what’s coming. Is there a need for trainee or newly qualified arborists to have access to larger wooded places, well away from any residential areas or the general public; with vehicular access, where they can be given free reign to practice their newly acquired skills (and not worry so much about doing something less than perfectly) for a nominal payment in return?

 

Shoot me down if it’s deserved!

Its done to train and asses people doing their cs 30/31/etc etc .

[RLC1947]

I don’t have a clue what those are I’m afraid, would the offer of it be helpful do you think then?

[Stubby]

3 minutes ago, RLC1947 said:

I don’t have a clue what those are I’m afraid, would the offer of it be helpful do you think then?

Well yes I would think so . cs 30 .....up wards are the training courses for competence .  

[GarethM]

Why not just Google local training providers and ask them if they're interested in a training location.

 

Regardless of the course I wouldn't want random people giving it a go, as you're the one ultimately that would get the stick from the forestry commission etc.

[Stubby]

1 minute ago, GarethM said:

Why not just Google local training providers and ask them if they're interested in a training location.

 

Regardless of the course I wouldn't want random people giving it a go, as you're the one ultimately that would get the stick from the forestry commission etc.

Why couldn't I say this ? 🙂

[GarethM]

Just now, Stubby said:

Why couldn't I say this ? 🙂

Maybe you were feeling all friendly and talkative? 😉

[scbk]

Talk to a local training provider/college (or more than one)

Tell them about your woodland, and ask if there was any way of doing a deal where they use your woodland for a few sessions and you/your partner tag along and get chainsaw training for cheap/free.

 

When I was in my early 20's I did a job for a motorcycle instructor and payment was me getting a bike licence, I only had to pay the test fee.

[5thelement]

I would be very surprised if a 20 year old mixed hardwood plantation had material of a suitable size to meet any training/assessing requirements for groundbased chainsaw units. 

[spuddog0507]

There is a few things to think about here,,

1,, i would think you would need a felling licence in place first,, 

2,,i would make sure that who ever goes in to your woodland, fully understands the process of thinning and what you want done, as i could just see it virtually ending up ruined ??,

3,,several years ago i let a trainer who provided training for a local council on to one of our sites, it was explained very clearly what was required and TBH it was a right shambles of a job, saw logs cut at 3.5,3.6,3.7& 3.8, stumps left 2ft high, timber lead at all angles, this probably cost me 2 extra days when extracting the timber, on off tractor measuring logs cutting logs etc

4,, what is happening to your timber ? will it be left in nature piles or will it be extracted,

there is a bit to think about when letting some one who is young and keen with a chainsaw loose in your woodland, personally i would be there suppervising and labouring myself,,