Paul Barton

Okay. This thread has been interesting and full of lively debate which is fine. But any more white supremacist posts, name calling or swearing will result in bans for the offenders. No ifs and no buts.

Blaise Castle? Lovely trees.

Stunning place for tree gazing. May head there on Monday.

I wasn't fully aware of the background to the proposed changes from CAS so asked Mark Chester for an update - he has given this response: The Consulting Arborist Society recognises a number of skills whereby an arboricultural consultant can demonstrate competency. These are known as Areas of Professional Competency (APCs). The first APC, which was the starting point for founding the society back in 2003, was the Mortgage course. QTRA was added in 2005. Several years ago, all of the courses were reviewed to ensure they fitted the model with assessment of competency. Lantra’s Professional Tree Inspector qualification was added at this time. A limitation of QTRA is that not only is there no minimum entry requirement, there is also no assessment of a candidate’s competency. Operators use the system under license. It therefore does not fit in to the CAS model. As such, the CAS Board of Directors has recommended that it should no longer be recognised as a CAS Competency. The ISA’s Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ), by contrast, has a minimum entry requirement and delegates need to be qualified to at least level 2 in arboriculture. Assessment follows two full days of classroom and field exercises, and consists of two practical tree inspections and a 100 question Multiple Choice paper, all of which is overseen by the ISA. It is critically acclaimed and internationally recognised. It also fits the CAS model.

I've been wondering about this too. Do you know roughy what it costs?

Get a good bike shop to set your bike up so it fits you perfectly. After a few days even small things like the angle of the saddle or the handlebar stem length can cause niggling problems.

Yep, Norway Maple.

Thanks for your input guys - all very valuable. Jules - just to reassure you, becoming a CAS member in no way hitches you to TRAQ. TRAQ will be just one of the competency areas amongst the others so you can of course decline to have it and use it and stick with whatever survey method you like. I am a CAS member but don't have the QTRA or TRAQ badge! I agree with your assessment of the long-winded thread too - it did (in the end) appear to expose some quite serious flaws in the way that the matrix is used. Can you make it to Experts Question Time III on June 11th? It would be good to meet you!

Here you go - and good luck! http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/73829-tree-risk-assessment-qualification-traq-isa-best-management-practices.html

I'm not entirely sure of the reasons Kevin, but Mark Chester has done the TRAQ training and thought it was very good. Adam - TRAQ is a system developed by the ISA in America, which uses a risk matrix of descriptive words rather than numbers. There was quite a long and detailed debate about it (started by one of the QTRA trainers ;-)) on here a while ago...I'll see if I can find a link.

Ha! Not a bad shout is Cercis...I'll compare my photo with the books....Thanks.

Nope, definitely not Laburmum - bark wrong colour and I think Laburnum has much thicker twigs. Thanks for having a go though

Thanks for your thoughts. I don't think the second can be Arbutus sp. as they are evergreen. You're right Shane, the buds aren't right for the first to be Ginkgo but the bark is a bit similar.

What do you think these might be? Identification has never been a strong point of mine, but during bud burst it gets even harder! The first 3 photos are the same tree, showing the form, twig and bark. My first instinct was Liquidambar but I'm not certain. The fourth and fifth photos are the other tree. It has a very low spreading form like a large shrub really. Perhaps Cotinus?

Hmm, I see what you are saying but don't think that people aren't going hungry. Just look at the high demand for Foodbanks giving food parcels to people that don't have enough money to put food on the table.

It's bonkers! Offering discounted homes to those that already have homes with secure tenancies just further freezes out those that are really in need - people in temporary accommodation on housing waiting lists. Moving people from cheap rents on to privately arranged mortgages will of course also benefit the banking sector. Another tory policy to benefit those that already have instead of focussing on reducing the growing inequality levels in this country.

I'm not sure of the relevance of that post?! If you want to explain that would be great, otherwise I'll assume it's a mistake and delete it. I see it's your first post - why not introduce yourself in this thread: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/8-welcome-new-members-104.html

Island - in case you haven't seen, I am aiming to run a one day seminar on software for tree surveys later this year via CAS: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/cas/85956-gis-cad-seminar-your-thoughts.html#post1289465

Thanks for your responses. Things are coming together and it looks like we'll have a one day seminar running in the midlands this summer/autumn. I'm aiming to have the price at under £100 per person for the day including lunch. Format is likely to be an introduction to GIS in the morning, including some hands on time with different devices to try out out of the classroom. In the afternoon we will look at CAD and how it can be used to display accurate tree survey information particularly in relation to tree plans for BS5837 planning reports. Will update this thread with more details soon!

Thanks for your responses. Things are coming together and it looks like we'll have a one day seminar running in the midlands this summer/autumn. I'm aiming to have the price at under £100 per person for the day including lunch. Format is likely to be an introduction to GIS in the morning, including some hands on time with different devices to try out out of the classroom. In the afternoon we will look at CAD and how it can be used to display accurate tree survey information particularly in relation to tree plans for BS5837 planning reports. Will update this thread with more details soon!

Bump! Places still available.

Well done Sean - thanks for keeping us up to date. It sounds like you're doing really well in the face of a really hard situation. Respect.

[ame] [/ame]

Calm down chap! A couple of people have taken issue with your marketing ploy, that's it. Arbtalk is full of useful info and helpful folk. You sometimes need a thick skin but that's forums for you.

Hi Ben. I can't offer a good authoritative text to quote to help your situation. Perhaps looking at the site specific soil conditions might help explain a deviation from the standard RPA calculation (or shape at least). Root length and depth is (in my limited understanding) strongly associated with ground conditions, particularly the availability of water and air. In highly compacted urban areas it seems that roots may need to travel further at shallower levels to obtain the necessary moisture where oxygen is also present. In an unsurfaced free draining soil, roots are likely to be shorter and deeper as they have all they need to function within a shorter distance from the stem. Other than that, perhaps it's best to stick with the standard BS calculated RPA as a rule, but for trees that really are worth retaining but could pose a conflict, get your spade out and have dig to see what is actually there.