Ty Korrigan

For the interest of those wanting a little French arb' vocab... Les Bocages, tree surgery in Brittany

Please can we not let this thread descend into a rant against college education etc... There is already another thread on this subject. What I am writing about largely concerns my experiences with a 'shabby employer' than any incompetance or lack of experience on my behalf. I would also like to add that I am enjying these exchanges very much but I can't seem to add smilies to help convey that I'm not upset/getting the 'ump/seeing the good in all... How do I add smilies?

Ah! I actually have some photos of machines like this when I was cycling around N.Z. Huge Daleks and those blades throw material 100m or more. I shall try to post some later.

Oh, I realise that it is not called not a 'chainsaw license' That is called creative writing! Gives an air of comedy and danger... License to maim..?

Hello again, Thanks for all your comments and participating in this thread. Now, I'm not totally green having worked as a groundsman for a year before I started my course back in the U.K. This gave me a good grounding in what to expect from working with a small local arborist. College did indeed fill me 'ideal' scenarios and I came to imagine that chainsaws should have working chainbrakes as a standard rather than optional feature. I also would NEVER take on a job that was not within my capabilities. This is a large firm with many trucks going out, mowing grass, building swimming pools and other landscaping works. Each truck has a cheap climbing saw which is used for everything 'cutting'. The one handed cutting of planks for shuttering for example then just simply thrown back into the locker, never cleaned nor sharpened until the day they break and only then are they handed to the mechanic. There were NO saws reserved soley for arb' use and like I have said before all mechanics were in the hands of... Mechanics! I should perhaps have simply bought my own files etc but really, I got into enough trouble when I took one apart to fix the chain brake! There is also a culture of using chainsaws one handed. Climbing saws can be bought in any D.I.Y store and I have even seen them for sale in larger supermarkets. A 'machismo' (exagerated assertive manliness) culture exists were the use of PPE is seen as... soft? I was on holiday in St Omer, Pay du Calais a few weeks ago. Whilst on my way to fetch the morning baggette I stopped to watch a tree gang of 6 at work dismantling several trees in a front garden. 4 ground crew and 2 climbers. Through the zoom lens of my camera I observed that the only PPE to be used was a pair of trousers and boots on ONE of the climbers. The other climber had boots and wore jeans. No visors, helmet, glasses on any of those present and a couple were shirtless! One climber lit up, smoked away whilst his saw was being fueled below and then flicked his fag at the groundsman fueling the saw. The chipper was another without modern safety bars. I watched as the groundsmen chipped away feeding from the front without any PPE. Now, I can tell you all that I am simply not prepared to work under those conditions. I don't have to suffer incompetant co-workers, crap tools and poor working practices. So, without the experience I hoped to obtain working for a firm, I am now registering as an 'Elageur' at the Chambre de Metiers. (Arborist with the Chamber of trades) For those interested in some typical rates. I was paid 10.50E for landscaping, 12.50E for treework with a further 25% for hours over 35. Talking to a freelance climber, own van and all climbing kit but no chipper. Day rate around 300/400E Many landscaping firms here own chippers and get in a climber when required. They just supply the groundstaff. Whew! Time for a tea!

In what way do I have no idea...? Faced with such odds how could I make any good of the job in hand. I am not offended by the comment the I have not a clue, I was there and recognise a farce when I see one. Everything I encountered was contrary to all that I had been taught at college. I am on a learning curve and have now chosen to become self employed so I don't have to suffer such employers ever again. By the way... Pirates comment was in response to the post about the 'going rate'. To add... In this company, all mechanics from changing the fuel filters of vans to sharpening chainsaws are the respondsibility of the team of mechanics. Individual employees are not allowed to look after their own machinery other than to fuel it. That is the French 'Syndicate' (union) way of things.

I'm back. I don't know how but I passed and now have a chainsaw licence to maim whilst dangling... I return to Fair France and post several applications to tree and landscape firms around the St Malo region. Within hours of landing I land my first job strimming dog shite strewn verges for the City council. THEN, I get a call from a large and prestigious landscape architect who is reading my C.V as we talk. I have an interview, in French or course. The boss wants a climber on call. For the time I am not involved in tree work I shall be landscaping. Its all very good with a fair wage, a bonus for 'airtime' and lunch is always on the company if working more than 5km from base. You start Monday he tells me and I do. I should have asked to see the equipement, saws and climbing kit. Sadly I never did nor did I get a chance to inspect the tools before hand. Well, it was a few days before I got the call to climb. I hurried to were the arborist kit was kept and was...confused. I found... a rope, obviously used for towing, frayed, stretched covered in grease, dirt and cut short. The harness I had seen in old photos from the 70's at Merrist wood. No useable kit at all. Prussiks, stiff with age and dirt, unbendable! A complete absence of PPE, in fact in looked like the leavings of a pikies jumble sale. I reported to the works manager and asked for the equivelant of the LOLA records. A sad shake of the head I was told that all the kit was approved by a respondsible person but he handed me a catalogue and told me to make a list of the kit I needed. Days later and no kit had arrived so I volunteered to use my own. An error! This first job involved the taking down of 2 giant Macrocarpas to make way for a swimming pool. That morning, I searched for the saws and was told they where already on site waiting. Strange... and my climbing saw was already on the truck. We arrived on site. I changed into my PPE, arranged my climbing kit and looked for the saws. I was presented with... a Fisher Price red piece of plastic which when tested had no functioning chain brake when eventually coaxed into starting. No bungie to attach said shite saw either. The chain was amazingly blunt and when I queried this I was told that the chain was fine and that there was no other and no way of sharpening it. I refused to climb. This caused a conference to which I was not invited. This was because I was British and although I speak good French I am automatically classed as WRONG. I was told to 'cut down' the 2 trees which stood uncomfortably close to the house. Now, these elderly Marcocarpas were about 1.5/2m in diametre. I now only had 2 ground saws with bars that prohibited such a task yet I could not make myself believed/understood. So I tried to start a saw and the starting cord came away in my hand. Meanwhile... The decision was made without me to simply pull down the trees using the large exavator on site. Imagine if you will, 2 Macrocarpas, conjoined branches, ripped to the ground like the worst storm damage possible. Then, the roots ripped up and the trunks pulled over and all rolled into one huge pile. Branches twisted, contorted, loaded with tension, trapped under others in the same condition. Then came the chipper., an elderly Greenmech which being an older model lacked the modern safety bars. I nearly puked when I saw one of the crew get inside the hopper whilst the machine was running to kick an awkward piece so it would feed into the rollers. I returned to base shaken and confused thinking that perhaps I had chosed the wrong career.

Part One: For the amusement and possible interest of my fellow 'forumites' I present to you the sorry tale of my first experience as an arborist in France. 2002, I decided to move to Brittany to do the Brit thing of buying a hovel, renovating and scratching a living doing whatever came my way. Actually, I moved for love, of a girl in fact. For a living, I started a garden maintainance company, mostly holiday homes and very few French. Things went very well for me, I cut grass the height of my waist, cut oversize hedges from tractor buckets and even had a collaborator to help with hard landscaping. However, it was trees that bothered me. I found it difficult to get an arborist to do any work for me. Those that I found in the expat community te.nded to have... their own agendas... or were just plain 'pikies' and thats not a nice word at all! The local French tended to assume that because British were involved then the price should be double the going rate. So I decided to return to the 53rd state of America (U.K) and enroll in a 10 week course at Merrist Wood College. I shall now post this before I lose it.

Thanks Lads for you replies. If saying that your 10k chipper is treated like a baby and therefore good for 1000hours (£10) then add fuel per hour (£1.50), blade sharpening every 25/30 plus and allowance for unexpected issues then perhaps £25/30 per hour is reasonable to allow in your pricing. I am pricing per HOUR of USE alone. Down time is of no issue to me as if I had £10k and it was in the bank invested it would only 5 would be worth only 5% max after 5 years currently. I would NEVER hire out my chipper without its operator as I have seen what hirers do to machines and it pains me to watch/take part in this abuse. Sorry, I'm a bit correct at times.

Thank you for that, any-one else...?

I don't wish to talk out of place here but would any-one REALLY take on a new employee without an interview, C.V or practical testing etc...? Myself, I have only the basic tickets from Merrist Wood and with these I shall work for myself within the limits of my capabilities until I build up a portfolio of experiences that allow me to take on greater tasks. You won't see me hanging from 30metre storm damaged specimens overhanging powerlines for a wee while yet. Jack Kenyon and his team do the best they can with a variable intake in just 10 weeks. I loved it and wished I had the time and money to study for longer. I am looking forward to my first job self employed in Bretagne France come September.

Chap, what you say is very valid. Thank you for reminding me of this and re-enforcing a previous idea. At the moment I am researching all future options. In the past I brought arisings back to my land and burnt them come winter as there are fire restrictions in our area. Also, locals here have a tradition of using most of a tree for fuel so less to remove from site. Land use is less tightly regulated and it would be easy for me to persuade a local farmer to let me a shabby corner plot for waste storage. I have several jobs already lined up and all arisings that cannot be used will be stacked for burning later. Also, my own maths had come to a figure of around £15+ per hour for the TW125 chipper, reckon thats about right...? Thank you all for your input.

Hello, Should I eventually buy a chipper, say a TW125 Petrol for around 10k. Around how much per hour should I allow for the running costs/investment etc... Regards

Hello there, I recently completed a 10 week course at Merrist Wood and will return to France shortly to continue working in landscape maintainance. I'm a little mature (39) for full time tree work but with my new skills I am confident that I can take on many small to medium tree jobs with my 2 collaborators which will greatly add to our turnover. I already have a basic climbing kit, rope, harness etc but should like to ask the honourable members of this forum before I visit Honey Bros' as to what additional equipment would be usefull/essential. Thanks in advance Le Jardinier Anglais de Bretagne

Steve, Newby here posted about my recent work experiences in France and they have also evaporated. I am too tired to post them again...

Hello, I finished my 10 week tree surgery for craftsmen in May 2008. I worked in France as a climber for a landscape architect firm for 2 months before traveling to N.Zealand to obtain further experiences in land and forest management. I'm now back in the Portsmouth area and looking for any position full or part-time in arboriculture. Any leads or offers I would be gratefull. Stuart Lee