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http://www.canada.com/edmontonjourn....html?id=221f3f65-88e6-47b8-8acb-dabea5532390
Knowledge at root of tree safety
Olds-based company teaches arborists to assess risks before they climb
David Finlayson, The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Dwayne Neustaeter has a very personal reason to be passionate about tree safety.
Seven years ago he lost his close friend, Peter Donzeli, when he fell 25 metres out of a tree he was pruning.
"Peter had a PhD in physics and had studied the physics of tree climbing, especially the rigging," Neustaeter said Tuesday.
But when you take branches off you change a tree's 'wavelength,' (the distance it sways back and forth) and that's what killed him," said Neustaeter, who is giving tree safety seminars at the Alberta Landscapers and Contractors Expo at the AgriCom today.
Although the tree had been hit by lightning, it still looked solid from the outside, and Donzeli had drilled into it to make sure it wasn't rotten.
They discovered later that the lightning had "cooked" it on the inside and that, combined with the longer wavelength that travelled down the trunk, had caused it to snap.
Donzeli's accident was a prime example of how much we can modify the dynamics of a tree, Neustaeter said.
And the lack of understanding of tree dynamics is a major safety problem for people working on them, he said. "It used to be you just stripped branches as you went, but now we know that's not the way to do it."
Neustaeter's Olds-based company, Arboriculture Canada Training and Education, teaches arborists across the country to assess the risk of working in a tree, not just the danger to buildings or power lines if it falls.
And that means a documented inspection looking for "red flag" indicators, such as lightning damage, rot, or wilting caused by Dutch elm disease and other blights before you rig your ropes and fire up the chainsaw, he said.
"One thing I learned is that we often get our test before we get our lessons, and they can be very hard lessons."
It's the first year here for the trade show aimed at the fast-growing landscaping and small contractor industries.
Show producer Bruce Guerin said the big trend is to smaller equipment that will do more than the old monsters.
"In the old days you saw big excavators, but the compact equipment they are making now is so efficient," said Guerin, who brought the show to Edmonton after successful events in Calgary and Vancouver.
There are 50 exhibiting companies here, including equipment and truck dealers, and landscape and accessory suppliers.
"We're happy with the number of exhibitors the first year, and it will grow because Edmonton is such a big market."
The show, which is open to people in the industry, runs 9-5 today.
[email protected]
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
Knowledge at root of tree safety
Olds-based company teaches arborists to assess risks before they climb
David Finlayson, The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Dwayne Neustaeter has a very personal reason to be passionate about tree safety.
Seven years ago he lost his close friend, Peter Donzeli, when he fell 25 metres out of a tree he was pruning.
"Peter had a PhD in physics and had studied the physics of tree climbing, especially the rigging," Neustaeter said Tuesday.
But when you take branches off you change a tree's 'wavelength,' (the distance it sways back and forth) and that's what killed him," said Neustaeter, who is giving tree safety seminars at the Alberta Landscapers and Contractors Expo at the AgriCom today.
Although the tree had been hit by lightning, it still looked solid from the outside, and Donzeli had drilled into it to make sure it wasn't rotten.
They discovered later that the lightning had "cooked" it on the inside and that, combined with the longer wavelength that travelled down the trunk, had caused it to snap.
Donzeli's accident was a prime example of how much we can modify the dynamics of a tree, Neustaeter said.
And the lack of understanding of tree dynamics is a major safety problem for people working on them, he said. "It used to be you just stripped branches as you went, but now we know that's not the way to do it."
Neustaeter's Olds-based company, Arboriculture Canada Training and Education, teaches arborists across the country to assess the risk of working in a tree, not just the danger to buildings or power lines if it falls.
And that means a documented inspection looking for "red flag" indicators, such as lightning damage, rot, or wilting caused by Dutch elm disease and other blights before you rig your ropes and fire up the chainsaw, he said.
"One thing I learned is that we often get our test before we get our lessons, and they can be very hard lessons."
It's the first year here for the trade show aimed at the fast-growing landscaping and small contractor industries.
Show producer Bruce Guerin said the big trend is to smaller equipment that will do more than the old monsters.
"In the old days you saw big excavators, but the compact equipment they are making now is so efficient," said Guerin, who brought the show to Edmonton after successful events in Calgary and Vancouver.
There are 50 exhibiting companies here, including equipment and truck dealers, and landscape and accessory suppliers.
"We're happy with the number of exhibitors the first year, and it will grow because Edmonton is such a big market."
The show, which is open to people in the industry, runs 9-5 today.
[email protected]
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
