you guys think a degree in forestry would look good on a busness card?

[voxac30dude]

im thinking about going back to school at humbolt university and getting a degree in forestry. you think it would be worth it before i take the isa exam?

 

[clearance]

Sure. But I believe the forestry degree might be a little bit harder to get than the ISA deal, good luck and have fun.

 

[climber338]

It would look good on a card but if your going to get your degree go for the knowledge. After doing a few jobs i realized i need some training and now im going to be going to school in the fall for arborculture and maybe forestery management. What you have on the card does matter but the reputation matter even more. If you need the know how or the experence go for that not just for your card.

 

[voxac30dude]

what school offers arborculture?

 

[climber338]

Umass in Mass and Paul Smith in upstate NY. I have worked with guys from both school and they are both awsome. I do know that Umass is supposed to be the best in the north east. Umass is also alot cheaper almost half i think.

 

[climber338]

i just realized your from the islands and thats going to be a hike for you. If i were you id look into agricultural school in CA or WA because they are closer to you they are everywhere. Good luck in your search.

 

[voxac30dude]

i was considering agriculture horticulture. is that an acceptable alternative for aboriculture?

 

[climber338]

http://www.umass.edu/stockbridge/arboriculture/courses.php

Check out this link and see if the classes are the same. if they are then maybe but most of arborculture is trees not food crops. Maybe you can get your degree in hort and then take a few classes on the main land to get your degree if you want it that badly. Most of the degree is actually going out on an internship and working with a company over the summer.

 

[outofmytree]

I think Ronald Mcdonald would look good on a business card if it got the clients attention. spam

If you want to learn about Arboriculture then some hands on work would definately be an asset. The most common complaint regarding ISA basic credentials is that they are all theory. It is one thing to read about climbing, rigging and felling it is quite another thing to actually do it.

Ultimately your best path for learning will be dictated by your market. Why not chat to someone like Koaman who lives much closer than to you than most and has many years in the game. IMO there is nothing more valuable when starting a new business than a local mentor. He or she can shave years off your learning curve. It definately worked for me.

 

[Uncle John]

Not if you plan on being a hairdresser.( Sorry, Couldnt help it).

Good Luck

 

[rob b]

I have a four year degree in plant science where i specialized in arboriculture. I learned the most from my internship. The nice thing is that when your back gives out you always have the degree to fall back on. Nothing beats exprience in the field.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I think something in botany would look better with higher end clientele. I'm going back to get my BS in conservation and environmental science.

Our local tech school has a landscaping ABA, the downside is that most of the credits are 100 level so they do not transfer to a University degree program.

 

[teamtree]

I have a degree in accounting and small business management......but the most valuable lessons in arboriculture I learned from a guy who has 30 years of experience. When I started reading books on tree care, everything seemed to click because I could remember something from this guy on just about every subject matter. For the most part, tree care is pretty much common sense regardless of those who want to preach about science.

 

[BC WetCoast]

I have a degree(Bachelors) in Forestry, along with a tech school diploma in Forestry and a post graduate diploma in Forest Engineering.

Apart from my view that any education is good, the amount of my education that is transferable from the industrial forestry sector to the arboriculture sector is limited to basic dendrology (botany) and some silviculture. However, my degree is almost 20 years old and the forest industry has almost failed, so colleges and universities have changed their programs to include more urban forestry in order to attract students.

I haven't checked but I would suspect that most forestry schools ie U Wash, Oregon State, Cal State, etc would have a urban forestry major.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

For the most part, tree care is pretty much common sense regardless of those who want to preach about science.

If that were so then there would not be so many people butchering trees. The typical "raise and gut" prune we see all over, where all the cuts are textbook, is nearly as bad as a hatrack.

Many principles only seem logical after one puts a little thought into it; such as removing less live tissue from a living system is better then doing everything at once. The there is the geometry lesson where 60% of the dynamic mass is in the lower 30% of the canopy.

 

[lxt]

I dont know JPS, I think both are just as important pertaining to what teamtree & you have stated,

I remember an old timer telling me.....if trees were meant to be trimmed by man, the creator would of given us the natural means to do so!

I hear butchering, improper, this n that....but truthfully if the tree could talk...do you think it would agree with what is supposedly proper tree care as deemed by man/woman?

proper can be in the eye of the beholder be it a home owner, utility or other...really what is right?


LXT................

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

really what is right?

It is easier to say what is wrong, just as with the law "tho shalt not..."

Some things are right in a narrow situation, such as utility ROW or highway ROW, but much of what is done there is still wrong because they hack for reasons of expediency. It all goes back to my argument of: are you doing tree care or wood cutting?

In tree care we work with the growth patterns to ensure that the organism can survive in the landscape for the longest possible time. Wood cutters cut whatever wood the person paying them think should be done; or they try to tell the customer they know what is best, because it is the easiest way to make maximize profit from the job.

I have talked people into doing less work; say a sequential removal of large low limbs, to allow the tree to adapt to the loss of dynamic mass on the tree. Many come around to my way of thinking and agree to live with a reduction of the limb vs a complete removal.

Another is convincing people that "limbing up" is not the best way to prune a tree, then there is the idea that the bigger the debris pile is the bigger the value to the client is. I take more time, taking out less, so that the tree can live more.

Now to the anthropomorphic question: if trees could manage their own growth, would they have included crotches and low limbs that over-compete with the central leaders? If all it took was common sense then anyone could do a good job, the very idea sells short the years of practice and learning many of us have put into our professions (not that I take offense, just love getting on the soapbox)

Proper tree maintenance takes an educated and thoughtful approach over a long period of time.

 

[fishercat]

it wouldn't help you here.

what would help you here would be...........

"we will pay you to let us remove and/or trim your trees"

:greenchainsaw:

 

[lxt]

Nice post JPS, I agree that all the training & hard work we do goes beyond just having common sense....I was actually refering to the commonsense part after the training, etc..

I just took my Daughter back to College today & saw so many topped trees it was truly sad!! this was on route 68 & 422 in Pa...that company is absolutely terrible!! even in the college town of Indiana Pa, in front of one of the nicer churches is a group of mutilated maples???

I guess people feel that they`ll grow back...& they do, we know what the affects are unlike them.....But they think what is done is Right!!

I dont agree....but many think like this!!!!


LXT.........................

 

[rob b]

Line clearence is a necessary evil; there is spec., and a reason for that spec. Many trees were planted in the wrong places and lots of wire is strung in the wrong place. I have worked on specimen trees in arboretums and understand tree biology. For now steady workand good benifits will prevail over living in the perfect world.