Recap of April 2024 Discussion

This month's picture is Jenna Wickstrom cabling a silver maple so that it will provide ecosystem services for years to come.

https://mailchi.mp/de74702057fe/women-in-arb-zoom-14182843?e=[UNIQID]

May flowers are blooming - how's your tree care career doing?

Here's a recap of our April discussion:

1. We talked about viewing the eclipse, some of us got lucky and the clouds parted, but a lot of us saw it through heavy clouds.

2. We discussed trees and soil - soil has become a popular topic at conferences and we're all looking to learn more.

3. We talked about multi-tasking - taking care of kids, planning meals, planning holidays and working and how dangerous that can be when you're climbing in a tree.  So how do we practice mindfulness and staying focused at work.

4. We talked about trees and extreme weather.  What trees are doing well, which trees aren't and why?

5. We discussed the new tree planting system being used by TreeFolks at Jacob's Well in Central Texas.  Groasis Waterboxxes - we're looking forward to hearing how they perform and if they actually biodegrade as promised. Note from Valerie Tamburri of TreeFolks: I would like to clarify that they will be removed in early fall since they are the reusable version made from plastic. The biodegradable option has been out of production for several years as they sought out a new manufacturer. They are working with a new one now and testing them, so the biodegradable option might be ready for public sale later this year, woohoo! We plan to try them out this winter and will see how they go.

6. We discussed earthquakes, there was one in the New England area in April.

7. We discussed Miyawaki forests, benefits, drawbacks, and cautionary tales.

8. This led us to a discussion of invasive trees, particularly flowering pears.  Some of the Miyawaki forests appear to be using nonnative species which have the potential to be invasive, but native trees aren't doing well in a lot of areas due to climate changes.

9. We discussed career pathways - the routes to get from one place to the next.  

10. We discussed self-employment opportunities

    1. Consulting is the most common way to be self-employed in trees for women but there's also:

    2. Ecological Restoration

    3. Inventory

    4. Providing training programs.

11. There are a couple of places to seek information on ecological restoration:

    1. Society for Ecological Restoration

    2. The Ecological Landscape Alliance

    3. and other local groups.

12. Arboriculture and Tree care is a widespread field, doing ride-alongs and job shadowing with other folks can be a fun way to learn more about the various options.

13. We discussed doing tree work at amusement parks - using 1000 lumen lights so you can work overnight and not inconvenience the guests or create a hazardous situation.

14. We discussed ISA local chapters - single state chapters have an easier time serving members, multi-state chapters have to move events each year and make new connections each year.

15. We discussed the invasive jumping worm which has become a problem in some states and necessitates carefully examining nursery stock to be sure it isn't infested.

16. Finally, we discussed habitat trees - figuring out how to keep dead and dying trees without compromising safety (human or otherwise) or spreading disease.  Dead and dying trees provide fabulous habitat for many wildlife and insect species so it's important that we retain some of them.  Some folks have created habitat trees by purposefully drilling into healthy trees to create cavities for nesting birds.