Michelle Ryan, Association Chair, presents Andy Summerley with the Arboricultural Association Award
On Tuesday 6th September 2022 Andy Summerley was presented with the Arboricultural Association Award. In recognition of his significant and positive contribution to the arboricultural profession, Andy was presented with the award at the What is a Tree? conference, by Association chair Michelle Ryan.
Below is an excerpt from one of several nominations received from Andy’s peers.
Andy is one of the quieter members of the industry and the Association; he goes about his business in a professional manner often unobserved by others. Andy came from a very practical background, as many arboriculturists do, and worked his way up to having nationally prominent roles in arboriculture. He is perhaps unique in that he undertook the AA Technician’s Certificate and the RFS Diploma in Arboriculture in the same year and passed both first time. All of this was accomplished while he was working as a contract manager with a Local Authority.
The achievement gave Andy the momentum to move on to new pastures and take up the challenge of teaching others. The next three years were spent passing on that knowledge in a college environment, as a teacher. Perhaps it was during this time that Andy developed his ability to combine an enduring empathy towards his students with his particular brand of caustic commentary. Using these abilities, he inspired and encouraged students to realise their own potential. During that time Andy was also an instructor and assessor for the National Proficiency Testing Council for a range of chainsaw and tree climbing competencies.
Teaching skills developed, Andrew’s next challenge came when he joined a consultancy and training practice called Tree Life to deliver arboricultural knowledge up to and at degree level. He has also played a key role in bringing arboricultural education and training to Ireland.
Many within the industry will have fond memories of the ‘prep courses’ that Andy and his colleagues offered by way of preparation for the management exercises at Technician’s Certificate level. Perhaps an unintended consequence of these particular courses was the networking opportunity they presented – many young arboriculturists made valuable professional contacts on the prep courses and have maintained these contacts as their careers progressed.
Andy has helped to advance education in all areas of arboriculture including making a significant contribution to syllabus development at levels 2, 4 and 6, acting as an examiner for the AA Technician’s Certificate and developing an educational programme on decay fungi for the industry lead body. In recent years Andy has taken on the task of delivering training for the International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist programme under the auspices of the Arboricultural Association. He has also provided training for the European Tree Worker qualification. Andy’s own achievements include becoming a Fellow of the Arboricultural Association and a Chartered Environmentalist.
For the past 18 years, though, the core of Andy’s work has been the delivery and assessment of arboricultural education programmes nationwide and further afield.
The success of one’s teaching can be measured by pass rates, but it can also be measured in the development of students beyond the classroom. Andrew’s training role has particularly focused on developing students as they move from a practical background to become aspiring consultants and tree officers. This is a role that crosses the boundaries of sawdust and computers and Andy, given his background, was very well equipped to bridge that gap for students – not an easy prospect sometimes!
It is to Andy’s credit that so many of his past students have become, and remained, trusted friends and professional colleagues. Andy has always encouraged his students to become members of the Arboricultural Association and to continue their professional development. Several of Andy’s past students have gone on to become Registered Consultants and have taken up some of the most senior roles in the Arboricultural Association including chairman. Andrew has been a member of the education committee for a number of years and is widely respected as one of the most talented and experienced educators in the industry.
When one considers the number of students Andy has mentored through the years, and the roles they have gone on to take within the industry, it is clear that this man is owed a considerable debt of gratitude by the industry as a whole.
Greg Packman and Samuel Dudley
This article was taken from Issue 199 Winter 2022 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.