College, Courses, Certifications etc.

[Workaholic]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and new to the industry and am positive this is what I want to do for a living. I have applied to Humber and Fleming for their Urban Arboriculture programs, if anyone has experiences with either I'd appreciate hearing about it. Also, I am wondering what other additional courses might be beneficial for me to take, or certifications I should aquire to improve my skill/knowledge. I am looking for a good place to take a chainsaw course (can't find any around the GTA for the life of me) so if anyone can point me in the right direction for that it would be awesome. Lastly if there are any good books or websites to soak up some good knowledge I'd love to know about them.

 

[Youngbuck20]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and new to the industry and am positive this is what I want to do for a living. I have applied to Humber and Fleming for their Urban Arboriculture programs, if anyone has experiences with either I'd appreciate hearing about it. Also, I am wondering what other additional courses might be beneficial for me to take, or certifications I should aquire to improve my skill/knowledge. I am looking for a good place to take a chainsaw course (can't find any around the GTA for the life of me) so if anyone can point me in the right direction for that it would be awesome. Lastly if there are any good books or websites to soak up some good knowledge I'd love to know about them.

I went to fleming. Not bad I guess. They do stuff oldschool, but I guess its safest. I use the same dated crap I started with, only because I dont know how to set up the new gear or the diff techniques that can be used with them. Anyways, from what ive heard fleming is easier to graduate from. You learn how to ID 100 diff trees using leaves, twigs, and buds. You learn about diseases and insects. You learn how to judge how safe or dangerous a tree is. Some classes are a joke, like human relations. Oh and dont expect to meet a girl there lol.

 

[tramp bushler]

A lot of it depends on what you want to. If you want to Take care of trees then that is 1 direction . If you want to have fun swinging around in trees taking them down from the top that is another route. You can learn it all. But it takes the better part of a career.
The big arborist supply companies. Ie WesSpur, Sherril tree Tree Stuff ect have lots ;of.books and vids. And there is boat loads of you tube vids

There is a lot of experience on here but some of them don't seem to post anything till they are drunk so don't let them deter you.

 

[Workaholic]

Thanks guys. Right now the climbing aspect and full removals seem to be the fun part to me, although I'd love to learn how to properly manage and maintain trees so I can be more useful/professional.

 

[StrataTree]

ACRT in Ohio offers beginner and advanced arborist courses that focus on climbing with some I.D. Of trees included. You will learn knots, spur climbing and rope climbing, aerial rescue, and a bunch of safety stuff too. Also proper pruning cuts will be covered. The advanced class focuses more on rigging and crane removals. These courses are a week each.
For chainsaw courses try lookin into Arbormaster. They offer 2 day and 3 day courses that can be taken back to back for a full 5 day week.
My opinion is if you want to be in trees swinging like a monkey, take one or two of these courses then go to your local residential tree service companies and talk them into hiring you. Be prepared to bust your butt like you never have before and keep a positive attitude. Hit up the local climbers and pick their brain. You will learn more from them than any course you take. I would forget the long college type programs for now and get to work. You will be surprised how much education can be absorbed while at work getting paid instead of wasting months in a classroom...just my two cents though.
If you take this route be prepared to spend at least one full summer dragging and chippin brush. If your lucky you will be in the tree before too long. I've said this before but there are no shortcuts to this line of work. Get the job then prove yourself through lots of hard work and a great attitude. It takes years. The latest techniques are learned from guys on the job not in classrooms. Wespur offers some clinics that are full of great info taught by folks that work in trees every day. Best of luck, it's a great profession.

 

[joezilla11]

Acrt is a good place to start and u can build on that with their advanced course and line clearance courses. I just went thru it and recommend it so if u have any questions pm me. arborwear puts on 2 day seminars on chipper operation and chainsaw use. They just had one here but u can look around for a closer location.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

A few psychology courses would be very beneficial. If they don't make you come to your senses and choose a different profession, they will come in handy for dealing with your coworkers, just sayin...

Welome to AS.