Some Forestry History

[underwor]

MSU-Bottineau’s Old Main added to National Register of Historic Buildings

A 100 year old forestry school in the Northern Great Plains, the founders must have been crazy. Despite, or because of, the fact that there were very few trees on the plains, this was a major focus of original settlers to the region. On September 12, 2006, Old Main, the first building on the campus of the North Dakota School of Forestry, was added to the National Register of Historic Buildings. Although the school has undergone many name changes from its founding to its current status as Minot State University – Bottineau Campus, to many of the older folks in the community, it is still “The Forestry”.

The school was established by the state’s constitution in 1889 however funding delayed its opening until January of 1907, as a 4 year school of forestry. It was originally administered by the North Dakota Forest Service and the campus still houses the NDFS headquarters. Although it was later changed to a 2 year school, it has continued its focus on the natural resource fields of forestry, horticulture, wildlife management, water quality and environmental science for the past 100 years. To maintain its tradition of serving the needs of the region, it is currently also known for excellent programs in information and computer technology, and the health care fields which open the rural areas of the country to telecommuters and other professionals looking to leave the rat race of the big city.

To become an active participant in the world’s environmental flow and be immersed in a part of the history of the movement, check out this memorial to the forward thinking leaders of the region. More information is available online or by phoning 1-800-542-6866.

 

[underwor]

The Next 100 Years

Starting on our next 100 years in the forestry field, MSU-Bottineau (formerly The Forestry) is looking to diversify the type of training we provide in the tree care/grounds maintenance field.
One idea we currently are looking at is a joint effort with the International Peace Garden on the US/Canadian border. We are considering offering a Basic Groundsworker Skills certificate program as a combined classroom/work experience in a 12 week time frame, basically a summer semester. Students would live at the Peace Garden, be involved in daily maintenance operations of a world class horticultural park and take classes for full college credits. The schedule would be 2 days of class and 3-4 days work per week. Classes would include: climbing, soils, arboriculture, turfgrass management and dendrology. The instuctors would be myself and the IPG CEO, Doug Hevenor, who is a graduate of the Niagra Parks program and has worked around the world.

As I highly respect the opinions of this group, I have a couple of questions.
1. Does this sound like a program that you would be comfortable suggesting to a young person who is considering a career in the grounds maintenance field, or someone looking to change careers?
2. Would you, as a employer, consider sponsoring a portion of the students education cost in return for a well trained employee on the other end.
3. Any other thoughts on the idea.

Thanks for your imput.

http://www.peacegarden.com/.

 

[jmack]

Starting on our next 100 years in the forestry field, MSU-Bottineau (formerly The Forestry) is looking to diversify the type of training we provide in the tree care/grounds maintenance field.
One idea we currently are looking at is a joint effort with the International Peace Garden on the US/Canadian border. We are considering offering a Basic Groundsworker Skills certificate program as a combined classroom/work experience in a 12 week time frame, basically a summer semester. Students would live at the Peace Garden, be involved in daily maintenance operations of a world class horticultural park and take classes for full college credits. The schedule would be 2 days of class and 3-4 days work per week. Classes would include: climbing, soils, arboriculture, turfgrass management and dendrology. The instuctors would be myself and the IPG CEO, Doug Hevenor, who is a graduate of the Niagra Parks program and has worked around the world.

As I highly respect the opinions of this group, I have a couple of questions.
1. Does this sound like a program that you would be comfortable suggesting to a young person who is considering a career in the grounds maintenance field, or someone looking to change careers?
2. Would you, as a employer, consider sponsoring a portion of the students education cost in return for a well trained employee on the other end.
3. Any other thoughts on the idea.

Thanks for your imput.

http://www.peacegarden.com/.

college credits for ground worker imo not a good idea, parents paying for a college tuition for a job as a ground worker not a good idea, why do we need peace between us and canada , young people and the speakers that come into their schools and their teachers are not seeing this profession as one you would need a degree for , people who change careers for this , (drag brush, to a machine that can kill you, if you stop a stedy pace the work load will be harder), i mean how do you sell this to people

 

[underwor]

"college credits for ground worker imo not a good idea, parents paying for a college tuition for a job as a ground worker not a good idea, why do we need peace between us and canada , young people and the speakers that come into their schools and their teachers are not seeing this profession as one you would need a degree for , people who change careers for this , (drag brush, to a machine that can kill you, if you stop a stedy pace the work load will be harder), i mean how do you sell this to people"

The quick answer as to why education is needed to improve the "profession" of arborist is in the quote above. The grounds worker spends much more time in contact with the client than the climber or boss. They are the one who is asked to explain what the rest of the crew is doing. If they are not literate in the written and spoken language the image of the entire crew and company may be tarnished. They should have the basic tools necessary to explain what is going on in terms that the doctor, lawyer or other professional that the work is being done for can understand. If this duty is not being fulfilled by your staff, on the job or while promoting the profession in our schools and communities, the chance of our work being seen as a profession, for which we can charge accordingly and demand the same respect, is very low. We must learn to work smarter, reducing fatigue which can lead to accidents and making our efforts more efficient, to save time and increase production.

Ask anyone who has progressed from grounds to tree worker to consultant which has paid better. Is it the amount of brush in the truck at the end of the day or the amount of clear, concise, verifiable information which was conveyed to the client in his air-conditioned office?

Many of the people who currently work in the field are indeed very knowledgeable. The only thing they lack for promotion is a peice of paper which says they know what they are doing. This transcript verifies their participation in programs which test their knowledge and provide them with the information needed to fill in the gaps. It may be provided by a college or by a professional association such as the ISA. It documents a person's commitment in time and energy to better themselves. This dedication is a big part of what an employer looks for in hiring people to fill management positions to lead the company into the future.

Thanks for your imput again. Each bit is worth while in establishing our professionalism and fine tuning the training of future arborists.

 

[Jumper]

, why do we need peace between us and canada ,

WTF??? 192 years worth of it seems pretty good IMHO.

Are people getting paid for their 3-4 days of work per week, sort of like a coop proogram? I think this would be a good intro for someone, after which they could decide if they really wanted to proceed furthur in this line of study, or do something else.

 

[underwor]

Jumper, we are just starting to work on the details. I know that room and board, plus a stipend of some sort will be provided. This will make it less of a cost than normal college programs which add these costs to those of tuition. As you said, it is an introductory program. It will help get a foot in the door and if the person decides that school isn't so bad, they have a leg up on completing a degree.

 

[jmack]

"college credits for ground worker imo not a good idea, parents paying for a college tuition for a job as a ground worker not a good idea, why do we need peace between us and canada , young people and the speakers that come into their schools and their teachers are not seeing this profession as one you would need a degree for , people who change careers for this , (drag brush, to a machine that can kill you, if you stop a stedy pace the work load will be harder), i mean how do you sell this to people"

The quick answer as to why education is needed to improve the "profession" of arborist is in the quote above. The grounds worker spends much more time in contact with the client than the climber or boss. They are the one who is asked to explain what the rest of the crew is doing. If they are not literate in the written and spoken language the image of the entire crew and company may be tarnished. They should have the basic tools necessary to explain what is going on in terms that the doctor, lawyer or other professional that the work is being done for can understand. If this duty is not being fulfilled by your staff, on the job or while promoting the profession in our schools and communities, the chance of our work being seen as a profession, for which we can charge accordingly and demand the same respect, is very low. We must learn to work smarter, reducing fatigue which can lead to accidents and making our efforts more efficient, to save time and increase production.

Ask anyone who has progressed from grounds to tree worker to consultant which has paid better. Is it the amount of brush in the truck at the end of the day or the amount of clear, concise, verifiable information which was conveyed to the client in his air-conditioned office?

Many of the people who currently work in the field are indeed very knowledgeable. The only thing they lack for promotion is a peice of paper which says they know what they are doing. This transcript verifies their participation in programs which test their knowledge and provide them with the information needed to fill in the gaps. It may be provided by a college or by a professional association such as the ISA. It documents a person's commitment in time and energy to better themselves. This dedication is a big part of what an employer looks for in hiring people to fill management positions to lead the company into the future.

Thanks for your imput again. Each bit is worth while in establishing our professionalism and fine tuning the training of future arborists.

Point well taken concerning contact, however , people willing to interact like this are usually going for another profession, btw i need ground dudes who hump, i dont want them talking to clients, there are many reasons for this,(too many to list) i agree with you on the professionalism, but i cant sell a college ed. to a parent when they find out when jonny graduates he will be backing chipper dragging and cutting, i could however sell diagnostics, management etc etc. /in hiring these individuals, " I went to college four 4 years to drag brush jmack whatcha gonna do for me" oh my! anyway i like your angle keep going strong dont let me take the wind out of your sails. your trying to make it better and that my friend is awesome

 

[jmack]

WTF??? 192 years worth of it seems pretty good IMHO.

Are people getting paid for their 3-4 days of work per week, sort of like a coop proogram? I think this would be a good intro for someone, after which they could decide if they really wanted to proceed furthur in this line of study, or do something else.

yeah thats what iwas thinking about the peace stuff

 

[underwor]

Thanks for the reply jmack, we all need someone to point out the other side.

So far most of my grads have gone into business for themselves, or taken jobs with larger companies, cities or parks departments. The top two are a fellow working as a salesman/foreman in New York/Connecticut market and one who is director of building and grounds for Lindenwood College in St. Charles, MO. Both started as brush draggers at some stage of their life, but advanced quickly when their management skills and knowledge came to the top. If there is no chance for advancement in an organization, then hiring someone with a higher education certainly makes no sense. There are way too many jobs out there which do offer a chance to improve.

 

[Tree Machine]

college credits for ground worker imo not a good idea, parents paying for a college tuition for a job as a ground worker not a good idea, i mean how do you sell this to people

I don't see it as a course in how to be a ground worker. It's just a 12 week program, a cool Summer experience in a variety of different areas, in other words, a 'taste' of the different disciplines, a light touch of some of the areas required of working in the green industry.

This course sounds like a stepping stone, not to a degree in being a brush pilot, but to anywhere; turf management, landscape design, forestry, arboriculture, parks and recreation, grounds management, small business, etc.

When I went to college I didn't have a clue which way was up, only that Mom and Dad wanted me out of the house. An introductory HANDS ON course may have given a clearer view early on, but who knows?


Young adults build confidence through experience and sometimes it takes more than a classroom setting to help a student figure out their direction. Some students are talented and learn well through 'book learning', though everyone does well through hands-on learning. If Dr Bob's proposal here were a curriculum, I'd give it thumbs down. But its not. It's just a semester class, a broad, multidisciplinary intro class in what's probably an incredible setting. I give it a thumbs up.