A taste of summer...

[silvafox]

Good effort John! I would say that weeping willows, along with apples, birch and conifers are the most commonly butchered trees. That job is a good advert for proper arb!

[Andy R]

Thanks mate

 

How's work these days? Got plenty on? I feel like starting the wind-down for Christmas...I'm worn out!

 

phones gone a little quiet these last few weeks but nothing to worry about I don't think. Most of our work just lately is BIG stuff...garden jobs have dried up a bit so we are doing lots of big deadwood's and fell's. Just need a bit more work to take us up to christmas and then we have our annual 2 weeks christmas holiday..

 

how's your climber doing?

[John Hancock]

phones gone a little quiet these last few weeks but nothing to worry about I don't think. Most of our work just lately is BIG stuff...garden jobs have dried up a bit so we are doing lots of big deadwood's and fell's. Just need a bit more work to take us up to christmas and then we have our annual 2 weeks christmas holiday..

 

how's your climber doing?

 

 

Oh those two weeks...how I long for them ! I've been 3 years now without a proper break and recon I'm over-due There is some woodland at Defford and I always used to spend time down there around Christmas time coppicing Ash....very good therapy!

 

Chris is ok, he’s still got back problems and might be moved off the team (I really don’t want him to go as he’s a natural)

 

Tom the apprentice has just passed his climbing, he’s got his felling so there is one more to go and then he’ll start getting useful! (as long as he can turn up for work on time)

 

I’ve got to get my arse out into the parks surveying. We’ve bought some new software and I’m going to have to (begrudgingly) leave the team to get on with it for a while...

[Andy R]

Sorry to hear you may lose him, must be a gut wrencher.

All the best anyway, and if you are in defford over christmas we'll have to have a pint at The Arms..

[David Humphries]

I’ve got to get my arse out into the parks surveying. We’ve bought some new software and I’m going to have to (begrudgingly) leave the team to get on with it for a while...

 

 

What's the software John?

 

 

 

 

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[John Hancock]

What's the software John?

 

 

 

 

.

 

Its called 'Stay-Safe' Its an evolution of 'Play-safe' which our parks people use on play-areas. Its very much a windows based system so fairly user friendly..

[David Humphries]

Its called 'Stay-Safe' Its an evolution of 'Play-safe' which our parks people use on play-areas. Its very much a windows based system so fairly user friendly..

 

John, do you have a Risk Zone based Tree strategy, or are you plotting/condition surveying all of your stock?

 

I've zoned our areas, and am using Arbortrack

 

 

 

 

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[John Hancock]

Funny you should ask that…..

 

I did my ILM last year and my main project was ‘The Creation and Implementation of a Tree Risk Management System’ basically the system is based around a defensible tree management system.

 

It became very clear early on that the ‘Zoning’ system would be the way to go as it’s more practical, cost effective and can be flexible.

 

For a programme of tree inspection to be manageable, resources need to be directed to areas where there is potentially most risk to people and property. This is designating each part of a site to one of four Risk Zones.

 

These four zones will reflect normal usage but must be kept under review. The level of risk can change from time to time. For example, if we were to hold a public event in one of our parks which is a designated medium risk zone, the risk will change to high for the duration of the event. This is because there are more members of the public standing under the trees (more targets) = increased risk.

 

The city will be divided into the following zones.

 

High Risk (Red Zone)

 

1. All major trunk roads leading into the city, and congested junctions.

2. School playgrounds.

3. Emergency access routes.

4. Overhead utility lines

5. Schools and school grounds

6. Railway lines

7. Seating areas (Parks)

8. Car parks

9. Footpaths with use greater than 36 pedestrians per hour.

10. Principle Roads in built-up areas.

 

Medium Risk (Blue Zone)

 

1. Main Roads.

2. High use parks and public areas

3. Informal play areas and grass recreation areas.

4. Golf Courses

5. Bus stops in high use thoroughfares.

6. Marked paths in woodland areas e.g. Tollerdine Wood

 

Low Risk (Green Zone)

 

1. Secondary and low use roads.

2. Moderate to low use Parks.

3. Public areas with dispersed recreation e.g. Fishing Pegs, Bromwich Parade.

4. Unmarked footpaths in wooded areas.

 

 

Negligible Risk (Brown Zone)

 

1.Remote or inaccessible areas with no or minimal public use and no high value

targets e.g. Woodlands with no footpaths, difficult and awkward access.

 

By creating zones within the city tree inspections can be prioritised. High Risk and Medium Risk zones would be inspected by qualified, experienced members of staff such as myself of Geoff Pool (Tree Officer)

 

Low Risk and Negligible Risk Zones could be inspected by less qualified members of staff, for example Richard Clerk (Head Ranger) could inspect all woodland trees. This system would make good use of resources, enabling inspections to be carried out on all tree stock.

 

Frequency of Inspections

 

High Risk……….Annual

Medium Risk… 18 Month inspections. Leaf on/leaf off regime.

Low Risk……….3 yearly inspections.

Negligible Risk…5 yearly inspections.

 

It’s still early days. Step one is to record all of our trees.

Step two, divide city up into zones.

Step three, start the full VTAs

[David Humphries]

Funny you should ask that…..

 

Frequency of Inspections

 

High Risk……….Annual

Medium Risk… 18 Month inspections. Leaf on/leaf off regime.

Low Risk……….3 yearly inspections.

Negligible Risk…5 yearly inspections.

 

 

 

 

Pretty much ditto to the above.

Do you see even the annual red zone inspections as achievable within budget?

Not convinced mine will be.

 

Attended the London Tree Officers Officers quarterly on Monday, where Julian Forbes Laird ( on Draft Panel for 8516) re-itterated Trees to be inspected by "expert" within 5 years.

Which is getting me thinking, that too much emphasis and resource is going in to getting Red Zones plotted and condition surveyed within time scale, potentially at the expence of other equally important parts of the ensemble ie; training-equipment-planting-Veteran Trees, etc........

 

 

 

 

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[John Hancock]

Oh to have a large pot of money, pleanty of staff and the right equipment eh !?