Arboriculture - It's all about the trees

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Arboriculture is something not a lot of people have been exposed to. However, it is a very unique and necessary industry that helps to maintain the health and wellness of our natural environment. Arborists, as they are known, have the important job of ensuring the health of trees and assess any potential risk they may pose to people and property.

Our Certificate III in Arboriculture class have been busy getting some experience in climbing and felling trees recently, tasked with the job of removing a damaged Yellow Box Tree (Eucalyptus melliodora) from Wodonga TAFE’s grounds before it became a hazard. The damage to this tree occurred through natural growth weakness and unfortunately this required it to be removed.

An Arborists role is to analyse whether a tree may cause harm by assessing the damage and weighing up the likelihood of people or property being negatively affected by the tree falling.

If the way a tree is growing can be identified as a potential risk early enough into its life cycle, a process known as ‘formative pruning’ can be completed. This reduces structural defects in the tree, decreasing the potential for future failure.

For the removal of the tree at TAFE, our Arborist students were assisted with control measures such as rigging and using spurs. Rigging is utilised to enable the workers to ensure the limbs being cut away land in a safe location, while spurs are sometimes worn as convenience, to make access quicker and easier. These are only used in situations where a tree is fatally damaged and being removed, otherwise a healthy tree can be caused irreversible damage if used on them.

Nathan is a current trainee of the Certificate III in Arboriculture. Previously having worked as an electrician for 8 years, he decided that he wanted an industry change. He was invited by a friend to work for his Arborist business and after 6 months was offered the opportunity to complete the traineeship.

“I really love the work and getting to be involved with nature every day. The Arboriculture industry has a great culture, and I am really enjoying learning all these new skills. I can see myself being involved in Arboriculture as a career for many years to come.”

Teacher, Rod Hall, made some suggestions for people who are interested in Arboriculture, of how to get the best start in industry.

“Previous formal training with chainsaws is highly regarded. Wodonga TAFE do offer short courses in safely operating and handling chainsaws and pole saws, another tool that is often used in the industry. There is a massive demand for workers all across Australia and the world if you want to get into industry, plus there are Arboriculture businesses popping up all over the place.”

Our current Arboriculture course runs 2 days per month and is available for enrolment two times per year. For enrolment enquiries for 2020 please visit our website www.wodongatafe.edu.au or call our customer service team on 1300 698 233.