Paul Barton

Wow, very impressive! I have never tried pole climbing but it looks like hard work. Well done!

I got there too late. I have recommended felling asap but have also offered to do a valuation assessment so the owners can seek some compensation/reimbursement. I am familiar with the Heliwell system but gather that CAVAT gives a better monetary value. I have never used it though - anyone know if it is easy enough to use? I am hoping to do the course later this year but that'll be too late for this job.

And again... 2 x 70 ft-ish Lombardy Poplars and one Aesculus x carnea. Approximately 8m from a main road junction.

Nope.

Tree protection fencing? Whassat?!

BBC News - Trees felled in Devon and Cornwall amid disease fears Nice bit of retro footage of dead elm felling near the end.

We also use digiterra which can export tree data into google earth. Works really well.

Hi John, Myself and a local tree officer are having a demo next Tuesday from Woodplan. You are welcome to join us if you like? Paul

BBC - I Love Blue Peter - Presenters - Simon from Tower Bridge I can't seem to make the vid work. Anyone else?

There are 2 adverts for jobs in the West Midlands in the employment forum...one for Beechwood and one for Acorn Tree Surgery.

Was it even the pesudomonas that contributed to the limb failure? Difficult to compare with other same species when this tree may have just had a weak union? Sorry, that's not very helpful is it?! Tricky situation really. I would tend to opt for remedial works e.g. pruning of some sort over 'monitoring'.

This is to be applied after we have de-compacted the soil around a struggling oak so I am looking for something that will also improve the nutritional content of the soil as well.

That's right Tony. Have you got a contact number or web address for your local supplier. I need about 23 cubic metres. What do you guys look for in a 'good' organic mulch as opposed to standard bark chips etc?

Hi chaps, Can anyone recommend a supplier of good quality mulch? Can't find anything much in our suppliers catalogues other than generic bark mulch. Thanks.

Nice one!

Enjoy John. It's Mr Kirkham tomorrow right?

Stick me down for a tenner Justin. Poor chap - hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Is this lathe any good (I know nothing about them?) wood turning lathe on eBay (end time 17-Jul-10 11:16:12 BST) It's only down the road from me.

There may be a distinction to be made between those qualifications required to prove competence in using certain machinery e.g. NPTC's for chainsaw use (even if they are out of date), and those qualifications which add knowledge of tree's to the arborist. Perhaps CS tickets are seen as required to fulfil insurance concerns, but what about the arborist who spends his/her spare time adding to their overall knowledge of trees, fungi, legislation etc by the ISA cert Arb/ND/Prof Dip etc? Surely this is to be commended. The best people I have worked with on the tools have had the bare minimum of qualifications but stacks of experience. And I have also worked with people with lots of academic qualifications but little common sense. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule either way, but there has to be a common sense approach by the HSE and employers about how experience is respected. Comfortingly, it seems that many judges involved in liability cases after a tree has failed seem to take this common sense approach and have ruled in favour of surveyors/gardeners that have few formal qualifications but years of experience with trees.

Good point. As said, it might be a bit early yet. Also, any deterioration in the crown could also depend on the soil type. If the raised level is made up of a sandy free-draining soil then the tree may learn to adapt. If the new soil were a heavier clay or had been compacted post construction then the tree would prob deteriorate more quickly. That's what I reckon anyway.

Looks like the ground level has been raised hence the lack of taper at the base. A little hand dig around the base might tell you how much the levels have changed.

Sad but true. I am not sure this is particularly new or unique to arb tho. You can meet incompetent people wherever you go. Experience plus the reward of an academic qualification is the ideal in my opinion. Even if the qualification does not carry much kudos, it still reflects on a persons effort and drive to have taken the time to gain it.

That's the point I was making - the 12xdiameter guide is just a guide and tree's don't read British Standards:biggrin:

I get your sentiment but that would be a nightmare for everybody!

Just bear in mind that the RPA as suggested by BS5837 is just a guide designed to minimise root damage to trees in/near construction sites. It is quite possible you will find roots outside this zone that will proliferate near drains etc.