Maisey Hammond, Marketing Officer
The Association recently exhibited at the UK’s largest careers event for young people, the National School and College Leavers Festival held at the NEC in Birmingham. With around 25,000 students aged 15-24 in attendance over two days, the festival provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase the diverse and exciting world of arboriculture.
Our stand was one of over 100 run by employers and providers from a range of industries, with fun activities going on throughout the NEC. Our wall displays highlighted the wide range of career paths within our industry, initiating countless conversations about opportunities throughout the two days.
This event was one of the biggest we have been to as a team in order to reach young people and tell them about tree care. Most conversations started with an explanation of what arboriculture is, but by the end every student went away with some new knowledge about our industry - and of course some leaflets and freebies too! I was also approached by a group of young women with a big interest in the outdoors, nature and the planet who asked not only about careers but also how they could get involved now to help with tree care. It was great to see such enthusiasm in what will potentially be the next generation of arborists.
Carabiner challenge and VR tree inspection
One of the draws to our stand was the incredibly popular carabiner challenge. With queues forming throughout the day, students lined up to test their dexterity and speed. The game involved unlocking and removing each carabiner from one rope to another as quickly as possible. This activity was like the Honey Brothers’ game at the ARB Show, but adapted to allow two hands to be used because this was many students’ first experience with climbing safety equipment. It provided a fun and engaging introduction to essential climbing gear. Our wall displays featured images from our climbing competitions which we used to explain to students how arborists use the equipment in their role. A huge thank you to Honey Brothers for their generous donation of the carabiners, which made this activity possible. Even our own staff couldn’t resist the challenge, which resulted in some friendly but very competitive rivalry within the marketing team. That’s all I will say on the matter, but I definitely would have won if I’d been there for the rematch on day 2!
Adding another draw to our stand, we offered a virtual reality tree inspection experience, courtesy of Callum Throw. This immersive activity proved to be huge success, giving students a memorable glimpse into the world of virtual tree assessment. Callum Throw, Managing Director and Principal Arboricultural Consultant at Arb Innovators Ltd and a contributor to this magazine (check out his informative article on AI in our last issue), generously shared his expertise over both days. His presence and knowledge were invaluable to the success of the stand and we cannot thank him enough for his support.
Arb Ambassadors – can you help?
This event highlighted the importance of engaging with young people and inspiring them to consider a career in arboriculture. Last year, we launched our Arb Ambassadors programme, and we’re thrilled to have over 50 volunteers across the UK and Ireland already signed up. If you’re passionate about sharing your love of trees and inspiring the next generation, we encourage you to join our growing team of ambassadors. Visit www.trees.org.uk/branches to sign up.
We are working on a list of careers events across the UK for 2025 and would like your help to have an arboriculture presence. We will provide you with freebies and the resources you need for the event. Alternatively, if you already have an event in mind, we can send out some resources to you for free: just fill in the form at www.trees.org.uk/resources and help spread the word about the world of arboriculture.
The Association’s stand at the National School and College Leavers Festival.
The carabiner challenge, supported by Honey Brothers.
Students trying out a VR tree inspection experience courtesy of Callum Throw of Arb Innovators.
This article was taken from Issue 208 Spring 2025 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.