john k

Sounds like you've got some good work there Stu!

And you can buy them in the UK brand new for £9k plus vat! http://www.lada4x4.co.uk

That's one word for him I suppose!

And I was surprised to find that their price was as competitive as anywhere on line when I bought my 560XP!

I trained on them a few [1] years ago and they are a great bit of kit. I think the main winch was 25t if I remember correctly. Diff locks on all axles, so you have to really be determined to manage to get one stuck. Apparently when they were new the cost was in the region of £250k! [1] quite a few actually...

How about radiata pine for some quick growing height? You could underplant with laurel for a big solid hedge if that's the sort of thing he wants? Or go with a mixture of native plants for a less invasive hedge: hawthorn is the most common but field maple grows quickly and has a bit of height, dogwood and hazel are more bushy and fill out more. Or for something a bit less usual, how about a hedgerow of trees that he could coppice for firewood like the French do: ash or sweet chestnut?

Should any of you have been working on these trees at all?

Sounds like he wants more of a shelter belt than a hedgerow. How wide a strip would he be happy to plant up? What sort of final height does he want?

They are two completely different things really, and it seems that getting a ranger job is normally a matter of picking your organisation and volunteering for them until someone retires or dies. Even then the odds are they won't be replaced. A large part of working as a ranger is likely to be volunteer management, which may or may not be what you want to do. You are very unlikely to do any forestry work. If you decide that rangering is actually what you want to do then a qualification in Countryside Management or Environmental Conservation would be worth considering, and find some local volunteering opportunities to get some experience and get to know people. Subscribe to the Countryside Jobs Service to see what's around, what qualifications they are looking for and how little they pay! If you want to go for forestry then a Foundation Degree or National Diploma in Forestry and/or woodland management would be worth considering. Then get in touch with local estates and contractors and try to get some work experience.

Good to meet you It was an interesting day and I was very impressed that they managed to have 14 speakers giving separate presentations and run exactly to time. I'm definitely suffering from death by PowerPoint though!

That has to be Iggle Piggle I think. You're lucky you don't have boys. I had to make Thunderbird 2 a few years ago!

Definitely worth putting the time in to make sure you know it. Expect to be asked everything - I've done 30,31,38 in the last year and each time the assessor has basically worked his way through the schedule asking the questions. If you can't demonstrate that you've got a solid knowledge of the theory an assessor is likely to pay extra close attention to the practical sections! The way I approach the learning is to go through the schedule highlighting one or two key words per item, then try to remember how many there are in each section. Writing these lists of key words helps for me too. You may find that arranging them in a slightly different order makes them more memorable for you too by making it easier to visualise. For instance in CS30 there are 10 safety items on a chainsaw that you need to know and I remember them by starting with what you can see before you even touch the saw and working through to starting and using it: Scabbard Stickers Rear handle Chain catcher Stop switch Throttle interlock Exhaust Chain brake Low kick chain Anti vibration

Extraction by donkey?

Don't be too rude about them or you might not get your £100 cheque! I'll be wearing my clean jeans and best trainers

Children get their parenting from a variety of sources these days. If parents don't want other people telling their kids off then they need to teach them how to behave.

You don't need a piston stop. Just follow those instructions!

Can't believe they didn't give him another take. That's just cruel!

I'll be there too. What's the Arbtalk secret sign?

Do you have a Pirtek depot near you? They carry a good range of fittings and will make up hoses/connectors/adaptors as necessary.

Well that didn't feature any cambium savers either as far as I remember

Here's hoping that the latest 560s are sorted because I bought one yesterday! Fingers crossed that it won't turn out to be a bad decision...

The largest of a bunch of conifers in the snow at a mate's farmlet in the geographical middle of nowhere, France. Not a 10, but I was very happy with it!

Here are a few from my CS38 a couple of weeks ago

OK, time for a bit of an update. The college year is divided into two semesters, and we're now about half way through semester 2. In semester 1 the modules that I took were Dendrology 1 and Research methods. I automatically got Forestry & arboricultural practice 1 as I already had CS30 and 31. Dendrology was good, but does take some determined learning. We had to learn to identify trees from samples of twig with or without leaves, and know the scientific names. Lots of them are in the college grounds but we also went on trips to Abbotts Wood (FC), Bedgebury Pinetum (FC) and Wakehurst Place (Kew). These are the trees: Common Alder Alnus glutinosa Grey Alder Alnus incana Italian Alder Alnus cordata Silver Birch Betula pendula Downy Birch Betula pubescens Hazel Corylus avellana Hornbeam Carpinus betulus Ash Fraxinus excelsior Field Maple Acer campestre Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus Norway Maple Acer platinoides Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum Beech Fagus sylvatica English Oak Quercus robur Sessile Oak Quercus petraea Turkey Oak Quercus cerris Holly Oak Quercus ilex Red Oak Quercus rubra Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa Dogwood Cornus sanguinea Elder Sambucus nigra Wayfaring Tree Viburnum lantana Spindle Euonymus europaeus Small-leaved Lime Tilia cordata Whitebeam Sorbus aria Swedish Whitebeam Sorbus intermedia Rowan Sorbus aucuparia Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna Midland Thorn Crataegus laevigata Wild cherry Prunus avium Blackthorn Prunus spinosa Cherry Laurel Prunus laurocerasus Holly Ilex aquifolium Common Walnut Juglans regia Black Walnut Juglans nigra English Elm Ulmus minor var vulgaris Wych Elm Ulmus glabra Goat Willow Salix caprea Crack Willow Salix fragilis White Poplar Populus alba Italian Poplar Populus nigra var italica Aspen Populus tremula Grey Poplar Populus canescens Crab Apple Malus sylvestris Wild Service Tree Sorbus torminalis Box Buxus sempervirens Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum Lawson Cypress Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Leyland Cypress X Cuprocyparis leylandii Monterey Cypress Cupressus macrocarpa Coastal Redwood Sequoia sempervirens Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum Dawn Redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides Swamp Cyprus Taxodium distichum Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata Japanese Red Cedar Cryptomeria japonica Noble Fir Abies procera Grand Fir Abies grandis Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii Atlas Cedar Cedrus atlantica Japanese Larch Larix kaempferi European Larch Larix decidua Norway Spruce Picea abies Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris Monterey Pine Pinus radiata Corsican Pine Pinus nigra subsp laricio Western Hemlock Tsuga heterophylla Yew Taxus baccata Research methods isn't particularly about trees but is a basic grounding in how to write and reference a scientific paper or essay. It also covers things like different types of research and very basic stats. A bit dull but worthy, and useful for all the other assignments. We ended up doing a mock proposal for a tree-related research project of our choice. The full timers also did Soil science and Botany. I have those to look forward to in September.

Well, just for the record and to get this thread back off track, I had my assessment last week [1] and there was absolutely no mention of cambium savers. NPTC are apparently planning to ditch the spiking elements of CS38 soon - maybe that will free up some time for a bit more advanced (or just up to date) climbing techniques. [1] Passed with just 2 minors by the way