tree report for first time

[mattyboy]

A customer has asked me to give some sort of written report on the state of their trees alongside footpath through their woodland. They will be opening their woodland to the public.

 

I have walked through and noted which ones I deem to need work on to make safe. I don't have any academic arboricultural training other than nptc stuff is it still ok to just use my experience and nptc training to write such a report? Or do you think best to sub out to someone with tree report writing experience?

 

I think I am capable of such a task as I did a degree in biological sciences but not tree related at all.

 

If I was to write it what should it include? would a map be desirable or just it should be one sheet of A4 stating what work was carried out briefly and that they should continue to carry on periodic checks on the state and health of their trees and after any excessive winds?

 

Thanks for any input guys!

[10 Bears]

Im sure you are there academically, but there is more to consider with tree reports/consultancy work. There are lots of threads on here about report writing in any case, but here are my thoughts on your thread:

 

- Firstly - do you have professional indemnity insurance? If not, don't commit anything to paper, and be prepared (££'s) to continue this insurance for a period of 7 years after you write your last report (due to historic liabilities).

 

- Dont just consider trees along side the path - within falling distance of targets is the key so they could be further back.

 

- General NPTCs will not give you any remit to write reports. The fact you dont have formal Arb qauals would be very much against you in a court of law should the worst case happen.

 

- Accurate mapping is essential.

 

- The format of the report would be determined by the complexity of the task. One A4 with scant or not transparent information could also see you in the hopper at some later point.

 

If you are not sure what to put in the report - I believe you are not ready to write the report. In short, sub it out to someone with the required knowledge, the right experience, accurate GPS kit and the insurance to do the job.

[Craig Johnson]

If you are not sure what to put in the report - I believe you are not ready to write the report. In short, sub it out to someone with the required knowledge, the right experience, accurate GPS kit and the insurance to do the job.

 

:thumbup1:

[arb culture]

Another thought - if you sub it out to someone nice, then they might even help you with some of your questions on how to do surveys - then you'd be one step closer to being able to do surveys yourself.