Ethical tree surgery

[bareroots]

A friend of mine runs a small company which tries to replant somewhere for every tree he takes down. I think thats good and have started to do the same. Finding space can be a problem. At the end of the day it`s better to plant 10 trees that actually survive than 1000 that don`t.

 

From a buisness point of view its always better, i think, to try and get customers to prune rather than fell, therefore felling less

 

I think this should be an industry standard built into our prices.

 

Could tree planting be put into the curriculum of NPTC CS30/31

[Rob D]

I was wondering what being an ethical tree surgeon would entail...

 

Should active tree planting be considered an intrinsic part of this? or

 

 

It would be a good idea but where to plant?

 

Better IMO to encourage the customer to plant trees and provide advice etc on best species, where to buy etc.

 

Or give to a charity that plants trees in parts of the world they can't afford to do it themselves.

 

International Tree Foundation ? Planting, protecting, promoting trees

 

I give £60 a month to the ITF. They seem to be more switched on than others about what they're doing. £60 means that I'm paying for 30 trees to be planted each month.

[Mark Cattell]

Ethical?

Depends on your view on ethics...

Could be a deep and meaningful discussion,

If your talking environmental ethics then honesty and intergrity are key... the rest will follow suit.

If you fall short of your/the companies objectives then assess you status and strive to improve...

Be an Arborist, gain the knowledge required... formal training or mentoring. invest in staff and allow time to do the job correctly.

Market yourself in the right place and hope there is enough clients who are willing to pay for a proper service.

 

If you get a call saying how much to cut tree in garden????Hang up....

[chris cnc]

where possible i would always recommend pruning and retaining the tree rather than felling it.

 

the ethics of it is tricky because when you remove a mature tree, you are affecting the local (immediate) ecosystem. Planting a young whip in the place of a 300 y/o oak comes no where near to replacing the tree, but it is still better than doing nothing.

 

if that makes sense...

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Concious of the fact that I know very little... Any good online resources on tree planting?

 

Trees Are Good - Tree Care Information

 

Leaflets available to the Public

 

Above are 2 starting points, I did look for a NPTC assessemnt schedule but couldn't see one, doubtless others will make good suggestions too!

 

Common problem areas are tree planted too deeply, backfill not consolidated adequately and support systems ineffective or damaging to tree.

 

 

Cheers..

Paul

[educated arborist]

Good post, should be intresting.

 

Dr Mark Johnston said to us "Arboriculturalists are the interface between trees and people" and this is where the debate begins. How should we best balance our ethics? what is best for the client? what is best for the tree? what is best for the local area? what is best for the eco-system?

 

Dr Mark lectured us to great extent on these issues and was an inspiration. Avoiding removal at all costs was certainly something he apposed, its all about striking the best for all balance & to do that is very deep indeed. Rmoval & replacement of more suitable and/or benificial species in a more suitable environment/position is sometimes a better option. Should we chose a species that is polution resistant? should it be deciduous? should it grow fast? shold it grow with an ex-current or de-current form? sould it be RB, BR or CG? how large should it be? how large should it grow?how may it need maintaining?what habitat shall it provide & how quickley?(the list goes on & on & on)

 

We can seldom please all parties but will do our best to try. Increasing urban tree stock is a must The benifits of urban trees are ENDLESS. But doing so involves plantng, pruning, protection, legislation, education, planning, co-ordination and plenty more.

 

It'd be nice to see a concerted effort from a trade body to help with the education & co-ordination of the public part:wink:

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I guess for me to be an ethical arborist is to work in a holistic fashion, that is to say that i do not only consider the tree, but all the life that revolves around it as well as all the amenity and environmental enhancments a large tree offers.

 

I care as much for the health of the eco system as a whole as i do for the client, and local comunity. I believe that the rotifers and worms, the fungi and the tree all have as much right to exist and have a place to live as we do.

 

That is how I live with the reality of what i do day to day.

[educated arborist]

best get demolishing some of our infastructure then lol, wouldn't it be great if all before us new what we know now prehaps we(our race) wouldn't have been so reckless. That said i'm a capitalist through & through & love my fast cars but i do wish that developers & the public were MADE to consider trees a little more

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Good post, should be intresting.

 

Dr Mark Johnston said to us "Arboriculturalists are the interface between trees and people" and this is where the debate begins. How should we best balance our ethics? what is best for the client? what is best for the tree? what is best for the local area? what is best for the eco-system?

 

Dr Mark lectured us to great extent on these issues and was an inspiration. Avoiding removal at all costs was certainly something he apposed, its all about striking the best for all balance & to do that is very deep indeed. Rmoval & replacement of more suitable and/or benificial species in a more suitable environment/position is sometimes a better option. Should we chose a species that is polution resistant? should it be deciduous? should it grow fast? shold it grow with an ex-current or de-current form? sould it be RB, BR or CG? how large should it be? how large should it grow?how may it need maintaining?what habitat shall it provide & how quickley?(the list goes on & on & on)

 

We can seldom please all parties but will do our best to try. Increasing urban tree stock is a must The benifits of urban trees are ENDLESS. But doing so involves plantng, pruning, protection, legislation, education, planning, co-ordination and plenty more.

 

It'd be nice to see a concerted effort from a trade body to help with the education & co-ordination of the public part:wink:

 

 

Thanks 'EA' (quite apt here?...sorry!)

 

I acknowledge we need to do more in terms of writing articles and editorials etc. for mags in the public consumption arena and hence the Associations 'Media & Comms.' Committee are charged with that.

 

The leaflets we do are pretty good (I think...hope!) and perhaps we could make those avaliable to you guys at 'the interface', at cost, to further promote the message to the public. The London Tree Officers Assoc. also do a great 'benefits of trees' leaflet at http://www.ltoa.org.uk/docs/tree%20leaflet_ltoa-v04.pdf

 

Cheers..

Paul

[Andy Collins]

Though it all very commendable to wish to plant more trees, and I in fact do a bit myself, we are soon going to saturate the country with these plantings. The countryside is fast being filled with small woodlands in any nook and cranny in the corners of fields that arent practical for modern day farming machinery. How many of these will survive to maturity? How long before the farmers receive yet another payment to grub out all the hedges and trees again. There are now more woodlands in Britain & Europe, both in area of woodland and volume of timber, than for many centuries. In Britain woodland coverage has increased from from 9.2% land coverage in the 1980 FC census, to 11.6% in the 1998 FC census. So far from trees being in decline, they are actually thriving under our stewardship. These trees are now better managed than they ever have been, whether amenity trees or timber production trees.