To advance the science of arboriculture for the public benefit

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Up Front - September 06

Industry news and views, events, technical developments and people.
A Quarterly message from the Arboricultural Association by Nick Eden, posted September 2006
(This message is published in the Arboricultural Association's March Newsletter. For your regular copy, join us)

As the season for nesting birds closes (or by the time you read this, is likely to be history for 2006) can I ask a question: have nesting birds interrupted your work programme much? When the CROW Act (Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000) first came about there were tales from worried arborists that it would prevent tree works for a significant proportion of the year. Has this happened? Is it just a case of being organised and programming work differently? I would be interested to hear your views on its disruption to work programmes and examples of how you have adjusted your procedures to cope. Letters to the Editor please…

Lantra Sector Skills Council News – and it’s good for Arboriculture

Rhoderic Taylor has been re-elected chair of the Trees and Timber Industry Group for a further two years. In this role Rhod will continue to steer the work of Lantra SSC to support the needs of trees and timber employers by raising industry skills levels, improving business success and enabling high quality, affordable training opportunities. The make up of the TTIG is somewhat forestry-heavy and it is therefore all the more important for Rhod to play his part in this group.

So how is the AA?

A question I am often asked, to which it is easy to say ‘going great’ and justify by numbers attending events, training, membership numbers, stable finances etc. But what do people really think of us?

This is why we conducted the market research around Easter time (you may remember the questionnaire that over 200 members returned and which was accompanied by a number of telephone interviews of key stakeholders). I am pleased to say I can answer the same: ‘going great’! But in order to be a bit more objective than that I have highlighted some of the key responses in a short report below.

Calling and hosting a National meeting to discuss the “Way Forward” for arboriculture in May was further recognition of the need to ask questions and not just assume we know what we should be doing. Our Chairman Jim Quaife reports on this meeting that was much bigger than just the AA – in his Chairman’s Message in the September 2006 AA Newsletter

AA Appoints New Editor to the Journal

I am delighted to report that Trustees appointed Dr Ian Rotherham of The Tourism Leisure and Environmental Change Research Unit at Sheffield Hallam University to the position of Editor, Arboricultural Journal, on 5th July. Dr Rotherham has an established track record in the academic world as a lecturer, a researcher and an editor of scientific publications and it is with considerable optimism that the AA looks forward to the impact that he will have on the Journal. Thanks are due to Dr Marcus Bellett-Travers for his work on the Journal over the past three years.

Nick Eden
Director
Arboricultural Association