Arboriculture

Arboriculture is the care and maintenance of trees from seeding to maturity.

Arboriculture is not only about climbing trees and using a chainsaw, its about:

This includes the study of how trees grow and respond to cultural practices and the environment, as well as selection, planting, care, surgery and removal.

The main focus of arboriculture is amenity trees; such trees are maintained primarily for landscape purposes. Amenity trees are usually in gardens, parks or urban settings, and arboriculture involves aspects of plant health, pest and pathogen control, risk management, and aesthetic considerations.

 

A Brief History of Arboriculture in New Zealand

The history or aboriculture in New Zealand is rather brief, starting some 30 years ago.

One of the first tree companies in NZ was formed in 1974 in Auckland by Alan Parker, called the Shady Tree Co. Walter Fielding-Cotterell was probably the first council arborist, and he started work in Christchurch in 1975.

In 1988 the New Zealand Arboricultural Association (NZAA) was formed by a collection of like-minded arborists.

In 1994 the Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Tree Work was introduced into NZ. The code of practice is a set of guidelines and recommendations for health and safety agreed to by relevant parties.

Approved codes of practice are legal documents under the Health and Safety in Employment Act.

In 2001 after some years of development the Horticultural Industry Training Organisation (HITO) introduced the New Zealand National Certificate in Horticulture (Arboriculture).

What does an Arborist Do?

There are different types of work that an Arborist does. John Royle of Royle Arborist is a tree climber, which means he performs the following range of work:

Climber – The primary duty of climbers is pruning trees of various sizes and types. Climbers also must be skilled in removal techniques and should possess all of the skills and training of a groundworker. It is not unusual for climbers to also be aerial life operators and some situations, work duties can also include tree planting, hazard tree assessment, and insect and disease control. Work may also include other landscape and non-arboricultural duties. Duties include pruning trees for line clearance, tree removal, felling, and can include herbicide and tree growth regulator application. Utility arborists may be aerial lift operators and/or also be climbers.

John also has special knowledge of tree requirements for golf courses, and can undertake tree evaluations (using the widely accepted method in NZ - the STEM method), and can advise on sprays and soil conditions.