certification ??????

[rahtreelimbs]

I want to know from you full timers if I should go for my Arborist Certification? I only do tree work during the weekends, about 40 weekends a year, ( if the weather is good in the winter I will work more ).What makes this more difficult is the fact that you need 30 CEU's every 3 years to stay certified. This would be hard for me to maintain. Thanx for your comments. Rich

 

[treeclimber165]

CEU's are easy to get >>>IF<<< the ISA doesn't forget to put you on their mailing list for the monthly magazine. I took my test the same day as a buddy that I worked with. He got placed on the mailing list for the ISA mag, I didn't. Even after calling them, I still didn't get the magazine.
Anyway, the magazine has a quiz each month based on an article featured. You fill it in and mail it back for 1/2 CEU. There is also a form to get credit for work tailgate meetings, conferences, seminars, etc. John got his CEU's just from weekly tailgate meetings and quizes. I never bothered to pursue it, and never got a single CEU credited. My loss.

The Cert. is a good way of showing yourself how much (and how little) you know about trees. It is also good incentive to pursue more knowledge in the field, so you can share FACTS with customers instead of making them up on the spot! (I think we all have done that at least once!)

 

[budroe69moni]

hey rich,
i'm studing for my isa exam as we speak. the arborists'
certification study guide is one kick-ass book!!!!!! there's
so much great information in this book that can be put right
to use in the feild. i keep the book in my jeep and refer to it
from time to time on the job site. it's so cool how you can read
something in the book and make it happen on the job!!!!! i've
already talked to a few property managers that said that as soon as i get my certification, they'd give me a shot!!!!!!!!!!
go for it brother!!!!
budroe

 

[Nickrosis]

Budroe,

I was really surprised by how much more difficult the exam was than the study guide. You should certainly go for it, but before you do, study some materials outside the book. I think that the test should be re-written to take out the wacko questions in it, but that's probably going to take a few years - they move pretty slowly in that office.

Nickrosis

 

[budroe69moni]

hey nick,
what kind of questions are you talking about????? i think that the sample test questions in the guide are pretty easy. i made copies of all of the questions and took the test before i cracked the book to see where i stood. i got a 85%. guess i did learn a few things at S.U.N.Y. Oswego besides how to bounce a quarter into a glass and how to scam on freshman chicks
budroe
p.s. what other resources should i draw from?????

 

[Nickrosis]

Getting the actual test was a real shock because the hardest sample test questions were the easiest ones in the actual test. For study purposes, I would read books by Alex Shigo and Richard Harris. In general, try to seek out information because the study guide won't have everything you need, in my opinion.

The ISA thinks their test is the greatest thing ever invented and are extraordinarily reluctant to improve things. I hope you do well on the test when you do take it, and at least you can retake the sections you fail as long as you had a high enough average overall.

Nickrosis

 

[Acer]

Originally posted by Nickrosis
I would read books by Alex Shigo and Richard Harris.
Nickrosis

Hi Nick,

I'm taking this exam in October. Could you quote the titles of the most useful books by Harris and Shigo?

Cheers

 

[Nickrosis]

I would recommend the third edition of Richard Harris's book, Arboriculture. Here at Amazon. Here at Barnes and Noble.

Alex Shigo has a number of books out that I would recommend. You can find them from a number of sources, including Shigo himself. Sherrill sells them too - search for "Shigo" here.

Don Blair sells a great book called <i>Arborist Equipment</i> that I would recommend for further reading. It's funny and educational. You can get it from the ISA here.

Buying all of these would be a large expense, but you can easily find friends who would already have these books and would be willing to loan them out to you.

Nickrosis

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Tests will vary from chapter to cahapter. I'm told that overall the WI chapter is one of the harder ones to pass. The exception is the ID where we have Rycker mounts to work from not just winter buds.

 

[Nickrosis]

They're trying to phase out the riker mounts (correct spelling) and put in Horticopia (http://www.horticopia.com/Arborists.htm) or some equivalent - I'm not sure which one. That would make the samples the same for everyone.

Nickrosis

 

[budroe69moni]

i don't understand why there is so little emphasis on palms in the isa exam study guide. they make so little mention of palms that it makes one wonder if a palm is a tree?????
they should make the exams more region specific and place greater emphasis on native species for the part of the coutry in which one lives.
just a thought,
budroe

 

[Treeman14]

Ahhh, but a palm isn't a tree. Its just a very tall form of grass.

 

[treeclimber165]

Besides, palms are just palms. After you have trimmed a few thousand, they all look alike. No new challenges, just new bugs/rodents.

 

[budroe69moni]

i knew that the florida boys would have a comment on this one
i had 1/2 a 6' black snake come down on me this afternoon. hit'er w/ my powerprunner. whoops!!!!!!

 

[monkeypuzzle]

Gotta love them snakes.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Yes, we learn to look for bee hives, but harder to notice a rat's nest in a palm, or visiting snake.

Very unnerving to have a rat run by you, (or even squirrel), or a snake pop out in your face just inches away, especially on a palm you are just lanyarded into; with no place to go at all, can't step aside or swing........! Except maybe down real quick if you screw up!

Oh did wee mention the Palmetto bugz? Like a giant cockroach infesting palms, (some say they are the state bird) get all over ya, kinda creepy; the only good thing is that they are generally not mixed in with fire ants that burn so bad in numbers over 5.......... And when you trim palms, especially when hot and sweaty, the dust seems like insulation on skin and lungs.

So, when those jobs for 30-70 palms come up, they don't get no break here!

 

[budroe69moni]

hey treespyder,
don't forget the nests of bull ant that camp out from behind the boots!!! i hate those little suckers!!!!!!! especially when they come pouring out down your arm and right into your shirt!!!!
budroe

 

[treeclimber165]

That's why you never tuck in your shirt when trimming palms. I always make sure it isn't under my climbing belt, either.
My preffered method of trimming palms, especially washingtonians with full skirts and boots to the ground, is to use our 30' ladder to get to the top and clear the top few rows of fronds so I can tie in to the head. Then my groundie removes the ladder and I can work my way down, staying above the mess. I can also swing around to all sides without hanging off a ladder.
This works well on anything under 35' for me.

 

[Nickrosis]

Why do you like wearing skirts and boots when in palm trees? I don't work with them, so I'm kind of ignorant of this type of apparel. It just seems like a skirt would get in the way...maybe it's just me...

Nickrosis

 

[Treeman14]

I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK, I sleep all night and I work all day.

Good one Nick. Too bad you're not old enough to remember Monty Python. The lumberjack skit is a classic.

Brian, I think I saw you're ground man looking up your skirt as you went up the ladder.



Back to the palms. I had a rat jump on my chest and run up to my shoulder before he bailed out to the ground. It happened so fast, I didn't really have time to react. Good thing, too. With a running chain saw in my hand, I might have cut my arm off trying to get rid of him.