Doug Blease

Kinojango, Whats stopping you looking for f/t employment?

The situation you guys are describing only really comes from training and development. This guys situation is a little different. He is freelance, but also requires as much experience in different situations as possible as well as development in his personal qualifications.

Ha ha! SWB knows every trick in the book! Sly as a fox.....

Do not give up on a chance of an education. In all honesty in this profession there are a lot who have gone a long way based on sheer practical knowledge. But in the future, qualifications and credibility will count for an awful lot. If you are committed to Arboriculture, you will inevitably return to education later, wishing you had finished it first time round. If what you say about your lecturers attitude is accurate, he sounds like a prat. All he has achieved is to de-motivate you and lose your faith in further educution. Learning support should not be subject specific. i.e. You shouldnt require an Arb trained learning support representative. Latin names are not easy, its not just your Dyslexia. Its experience in using this system and using literature to help with you ID skills. I have a severely Dyslexic son, and I study with some Dyslexic students. I am constantly AMAZED at the work which can be produced with the correct guidance. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP. I would almost guarantee that if you enter employment now, with your learning difficulties and your obvious enthusiasm, people will always take advantage of your good nature. Believe me, it happened to me time and time again, until I went back to education and furthered my practical qualifications off my own back. No f/time employer has EVER done anything for me other than pay poor wages and break promises. Your best option in this industry is to make yourself as employable as possible to the RIGHT employer. Not just anyone.

Christopher, I have a colleague who I have done a lot of work for in Devon who I think will be be able to help you. I will PM you his number.

With a coppice and planting plan you may achieve funding for rabbit/deer fencing.

"hard to see 1 acre of thinnings producing much income.....why not thin the whole wood, get a price per ton at roadside from contractor for the firewood " Not everything has to be at maximum production to achieve good results. One acre of Hazel coppice can produce a good amount of timber. Small scale, low impact forestry for biodiversity/environmental improvement. Our small thinning took three days for two guys. Primary aim was quality regeneration of native species including self seeding Scots Pine. But secondary aims were access for a community and birch firewood produce for one household. Demand for this type of work is increasing.

Christopher, Someone here will undoubtedly help you with this issue. No need to advertise. Where are you based? I completed a five acre thinning this year, we divided it up into "forestry chains". Have you looked into Woodland Grant Schemes for managing your woodland? Doug Blease

Finished shape looks just like his hair!

I like my treemagic.

ACE video! Love the crash bang wallop scenes!

Angus, thats a bit scary! Human nature really sucks sometimes. Wouldnt it be great to catch someone halfway through the act of loading up your logs?

Love the chicken assisting you!

Find a Valtra instead. Much classier! Congratulations mate. Hope the day is amazing when it arrives.

As long as your still making a profit. I was really talking about cutting prices to a near loss. i.e. Loss leader theories. Your situation maybe suggests that you were charging a little high to begin with? No offence meant, just a thought.

I know from a period of some employment a while ago, that a reduction in prices to generate jobs and increase a customer base does NOT work. Also, things go wrong more often on a leanly priced job. Usually due to short cuts in the operations. I wish everyone the very best in business for '10.

No not over priced at all. I wouldnt be turning folk away in the future though. I find the firewood price/demand/supply/quality thread very interesting.

I didnt read the whole thread but this might be an answer for you Martyn: The climber should request the amount of wraps on the Capstan/Portawrap. Because you are 70/80ft up, you would be better able to judge the weight of the section and the amount of slack in the lowering system to be taken up by the drop. Therefore your groundie can crank it up tight, but you just hold one finger for one wrap, two for two wraps etc etc. Or tell your groundie to lock it off completely. Pretty hard for your groundsman to judge from 70+ feet away. Almost impossible I would say. Not a dig at your method. Just an idea.

Not being funny mate, but not everyone at college is a cocky numpty. In fact a lot of US have more experience than you would ever imagine. In order to complete my current education I will likely be in approx £10'000 in debt plus a huge loss in potential earnings during that time. Therefore expansion of my education has come at a real financial cost and sacrifice to my family. To be classed as a cocky numpty is bang out of order. Stereotyping is equal to racism in my book. This is a sensible thread with measured responses. Lets keep it that way, then we learn more from each other. Not a slagging match.

A ring of rat traps surrounding the van! In all honesty, rats will eat through concrete to get at food when they are desperate.

Excellent!

Wow, you boys stay up way past your bed time! Just home for lunch and thought I would catch up. Your right SWB, times could be crap on the coppice, but I havent done work that rewarding (environmentally and production wise) since. A real team effort on the coppice, filling a big demand for a traditional, quality product. But when the money almost disappeared it was really sad to see it all pulped with a harvester and we were moved off to Larch and Norway thinnings. Then I started doing groundwork for a friend, then some climbing...then more climbing until working in the woods actually became a cost to my business.....this made me even sadder. For this reason I have done my degree, to resurect that diversity into my work again. In a few months I will be educated and qualified to carry out and put my name to a massive variety of work that I have always been interested in. Hopefully with more credibility for myself and the excellent, forward thinking companies I contract to. Amazing what an ancient skill like pollarding can bring out in folk! Here's wishing us all the best over xmas!

I have saved it for xmas family entertainment!

My first job in forestry was on the Chestnut Coppice's of Hampshire/West Sussex. I LOVED IT I do enjoy the climbing, but I would give anything to be able to work on coppice sites again. Not many up here though.

BSc Sustainable Environmental Management.