monkeypuzzle22

OK Hama...no need to state how you would have worked your socks off....its not like i posted this thread because i'm lazy...if there is very little work to keep a team of 6 busy then what can you do! My main role at RPS was to survey trees on HCA land, if HCA are not asking for this to be done then that is 90% of my work load is gone... Its easy to sit there and state how you would swap jobs for this kinda work, well as you have told me...do it then. It was an ok job but not stimulating enough for people like you and me who want to learn and do new things...surveying street trees is nice work, but for 7 months without doing anything else..? This is not the reason for the thread anyway, i am prepared to do the crap to get the cream...but its hard to stay motivated when you have nothing productive to do. Cheers for the rant Hama!!!!!! All the same, doesn't matter now so...Oh an 'VERY few' nice touch

Thanks all for the kinda positive feedback...it has nothing to do with the thread that i posted by the way and i feel i had all the right in the world to say what i said. I wasn't rude i was very honest about how my work load had slowed right down and that i was more frustrated then pi33ed of with things. I don't like sitting around doing nothing and i get easily frustrated when this is the case. They know how i felt because i had discussed reducing hours/days of the week, yet i was told this was not neccessary. I was told that there was enough money to pay me until March and was not told my job was on the line. It turns out that expenses and travel etc and the fact that the HCA (Homes and Coms) are not spending money with us at the minute due to budget arrangements etc meant there is no money to pay my wages, well perhaps for 4 weeks but then it would happen anyway. I am very motivated so this has not knocked me back nor am i going to sit here and cry about it. This is the perfect oppurtunity to go SE and yeah i don't think i will look back. I do apologise for the rant, but i say what i feel and just hate being bored. I was being constructive by sitting on Arbtalk and learning some stuff so...anyway thanks again!

Just been told today i have been made redundant with immeadiate affect. NO PAY, NO ALLOWANCES...OVER!!!Not a leg to stand on and no work to go to.... Great start to the weekend...

My family currently lives in Ashbourne and i lived in Derby for 12 years. Went to study at Merrist Wood for 2 years then came back (ish) this way. Thanks for the comments, very useful information. So would you reccomend taking the training and getting it on my Portfolio??

Well thanks for the advice...and no i wouldn't be happy either but there is only so much CPD you can do and when you are relatively new to Arboriculture it can be difficult to just find work or even begin to know where to look. Arbtalk is CPD as many of the people on here are working professionals. Roseyweb, you can get on the approved contractor list if you are CHAS/Construction Line certified?? Thanks anyway...

Thats my 'to a degree' if it is to be kept there needs to be more emphasis placed on the term "Dying". I would imagine at current Jo Bloggs applys to fell a tree or heavily reduce a tree subject to a TPO due to a fungi/fruiting body at the base, without really knowing the science behind it. A tree can be easily misconstrued as dying when it is in a state of low vigour, to which symptoms/characterisitcs are similar to dying. Low vigour does not mean that the tree is dying, it can be associated with many things, age and natural crown retrenchment being one of them. So yeah, the term needs to be clearly defined if it is kept within the reformed TPO.

I had a quick look today and the Government are proposing to remove the dying out of the current DDD exemption. Not sure that this is a good idea - Common Lime I agree..to some degree.

Can we have a name of the College or is all that hush hush because of the comments you have made? I may have missed this in the thread so sorry if it has been mentioned. It sounds like many people on here have been screwed by their College/Place of study. Fortunately i chose Merrist Wood and they were true to their word. I had all my CS tickets before my 1st year was over and participated in a MEWP ticket in the second year, we had to pay extra for this but none of us minded. I think, as said above, court battles against an education establishment would prove to be rather costly and difficult to win. It is a shame that you didn't recieve a course sylabus which detailed that you would obtain your CS tickets. Sorry i can't be of help but i would like to know, for future reference, which college we are on about?I may have missed this in the thread so sorry if it has been mentioned.

Hello to all the derbyshire crew on Arbtalk.co.uk...Hi Jonty, i am also from Derbyshire?Where abouts you based?I may know some people who would give you a week or two work, as a taster if you like? You are not too old, providing you are fit and look after yourself a little...tree work is all about working hard but it is also very rewarding, different job every day and that tired feeling after work makes you feel like you have actually earned your money. If you find the right company who are keen to push you towards quality work of a high standard and push you to develop (CPD) then you will find that you made the right decision to change career. Callum

Sean 1212...is your boss looking for pre 97 licence holders or any drivers? I am trying to establish scope for work before leaving my job and going self employed? Do you guys have a lot of work at the minute? Callum

Hi all, I am looking to go self-employed as a subcontractor in the near future and would like to offer consultancy on my portfolio! As such i would like some affiliation to a recognised scheme etc (AA, ISA etc). I have looked into several companies, of varying sizes, and have seen that a number of them list being QTRA Licensed almost as a USP (Unique selling point). There is bound to be someone on here who pays annual memebership/Licence fee to QTRA, my questions are as follows: Do you feel being QTRA registered benefits your company, if so how? Would you reccomend the product/service to anyone else? (this is usually a strong indicator of its value) Any other advice welcome...? Thanks guys.

I thought that you could simply use a GIS to obtain co-ordinates of trees and then directly (manually) input them into Google earth and it would place a marker on the map demonstrating the position of the tree? Alternatively convert your shape files, from whatever programme you use (Arbortrack, Arborcura etc), into a KML file???and then over lay onto Google maps? Hmmmmm....

I am happy to lend a hand if needed. I have CSCS and all relevant NPTC quals for climbing and grounding, including Chipper. I don't mind travelling etc etc. Currently a Consultant but before that was employed as a lead climber for nealry 3 years. Let me know...07837794373

I am happy to lend a hand if needed. I have CSCS and all relevant NPTC quals for climbing and grounding, including Chipper. I don't mind travelling etc etc. Currently a Consultant but before that was employed as a lead climber for nealry 3 years. Let me know...07837794373

Hey, If still looking then i have CSCS and all relevant NPTC CS quals, I am in Milton Keynes but am prepared to travel. Let me know if still needing peeps? Callum

Hey, I also had a look at this knot at the APF and it would appear to be what i have been calling a Knut for the last 12 months. It is an awesome not, a lot better then the Distel and for me, a lot more reassuring to use then the VT. Although lots will now post that the VT is awesome etc etc...each to there own! As many have already said, used in conjunction with the Hitch Climber and some Ocean Polyester and your on to a winner.

Congrats to Gareth and a big well done to everyone who took part...all to a good cause from a great set of peeps in the world of arb!!

Its already been done!My company in the last few days have been putting together a piece ofsoftware that can be used in conjunction with arb survey programmes. We use Arborcura, developed by TEP. The google street maps overlay the OS maps and provide real time data etc...all over my head the development side of things!

1 x Treemotion Harness 1 x new england tachyon 37m rope 2 x DMM shiny Karabiners 1 x fancy side strop (lanyard) Several beers... Oh...and the number of some blonde Finish (finland) girl...awesome day

Hi Fellow arbtalkers, I am simply throwing this out there..how much work do you guys actually have?I am aiming this question more at the Consultants out there as a pose to the tree climbers... I have been "ticking over" for the last six weeks now and i am getting so fed up of it, especially when the majority of my 8 hour day consists trawling through such Arbtalk threads as 'My amazing day felling some amazing beech tree'...'Wow fungi fungi fungi' and 'Awesome trees and biomechanics'...all fantastic threads...jealous...yes i am and i'm not denying that! See all these threads are wonderful but also very annoying when you envy the dam person posting who has lots of work (looking at HamaDryad in particular :biggrin:)!!!If only i could start a 'Look at this Veteran Tree i preserved' or 'Photos of amazingly rare fungi' but i can't...i miss trees! Maybe i should photograph myself at my desk on Arbtalk... Rant over...peace Callum

Saturday here i come...

Hi, I studied the ND Arb at Merrist Wood and was told by many of those on and running the Tech Cert that it is a course designed for those in the industry who require/would like a formal qualification yet are in employment/have their own companies etc. Both courses are the same level (level 3) and pretty much cover the same topics. The Tech Cert is one day a week and requires outside/private study and the ND is college based, full-time. If you have the ND i wouldn't recommend the Tech Cert, go for a Level 5 course e.g. the Foundation Degree. Hope this helps... Callum