Author Archives: Ian McDermott

Are You Regular?

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The Spring 2018 MTOA Meeting

When and where? 31st January, The Visitor Centre, Telford Park.

It is most certainly one of the issues for tree managers in these austere times, how often can I or should I inspect my trees?

At this seminar you will hear from a range of speakers on how they manage these demands and moreover, why. From legal precedent to legally defensible, are you regular enough?

Many MTOA’ers will have seen Greg and John at the NTOC and they were stand out speakers but these presentations build on the theme of the day. Richard represented the claimant in the Kavanagh case and has some very interesting perspectives into this case, worth the trip on its own. Simon will talk about the work volunteers can do to support the tree officers in building defensible regimes

All this for only £25.00, yes £25.00 for MTOA members. Non- members £75 (dependant on space availability) and it includes lunch! It is bookable in advance by contacting Jean McDermott on 0121 556 8302, enquiries@mtoa.co.uk  or jean.m.mcdermott@hotmail.com

MTOA 2017 AGM: 6th September 2017, The MAC, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH

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Do you want to improve your Likelihood of Failure tree risk assessment skills? Come along and learn how to make credible, consistent, and calibrated decisions at ‘Likelihood of Failure Club’. This highly interactive, hands-on training shines the spotlight on what is often the most subjective, uncertain, and challenging part of a tree risk assessment. ‘What is the Likelihood of Failure?’

 The itinerary for the day is;

 10.00 – 10.30        Registration, tea and coffee

10.30 – 10.40        Matt Seabrooke (outgoing Chair) – Introduction to the day & MTOA News.

10.40 – 11.40         David Evans: intro to VALID

11.40 –11.50          Comfort Break

11.50 – 12.20        David Evans: the details!

12.30 – 13.15        The AGM!!! Including for discussion of the National Tree Officers “Federation” and the potential introduction of fees!

13.15 – 14.00         Lunch

14.00 – 16.00         Outside calibration session with David

16.00                    Q&A and finish

Many MTOA’ers will know that Dave Evans is a great speaker and it has been too long since he was last at one of our meetings. No doubt many will have followed the evolution of the new VALID system and this meeting is a great opportunity to get to understand what will no doubt be a big impact on our risk evaluations in coming years.

All this for only £20.00, yes £20.00 for MTOA members. Non- members £65 (dependant on space availability), bookable in advance by contacting Jean McDermott on 0121 556 8302, jean.m.mcdermott@hotmail.com.

Booking Opens for National Tree Officers Conference 2016

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Booking has opened for the 2016 National Tree Officers Conference, which takes place on 9 November in Telford. This is the first event organised by the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), the Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA), and facilitated by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF). The conference offers a unique knowledge-sharing forum on all areas of local authority arboricultural work.

A top-class programme of arboricultural and urban forestry speakers will cover topics including:

– Canopy cover targets in planning policy
– Council tree contract models
– Tree health threats, including Acute Oak Decline
– Community engagement and volunteer management
– The future of local authority tree services

This event is an invaluable occasion for tree officers to learn from their colleagues on the latest research, best practice and innovation in this sector. John Parker, Chair of the LTOA, commented:

“Tree officers all over the UK are doing similar jobs and facing similar challenges, whether working in the north or the south of the country or in urban or rural environments. The first National Tree Officers Conference will provide a fantastic platform for tree officers everywhere to get together to discuss best practice and share experience and ideas whilst enjoying a great programme of talks relating to arboriculture and the urban forest. In the current political climate I believe it is more important than ever for us as an industry to communicate and collaborate, to support each other and work more closely, and to build stronger connections across the UK and internationally. This conference will give us the perfect opportunity to do so, and the LTOA is delighted to be working on the event with our colleagues in the MTOA and ICF.”

Russell Horsey MICFor, Development Director at the Institute of Chartered Foresters said:

“ICF is excited to be working in partnership with the MTOA and LTOA on what we hope will be the first of many conferences aimed at helping local authority officers. The Institute recognises the continued downward push on budgets and staffing within local authorities and the strain this is putting on teams working with trees and within the natural environment sector. This first conference has been designed to look at practical examples of how some local authorities are addressing these challenges, and we hope that attendees will be able to take ideas presented for use in their day to day work. We also hope that the day will act as a focal point for officers to network and problem-share with colleagues and hopefully find easy answers to help.”

Matthew Seabrook, MTOA Chairman, further discussed the significance of the event, in light of current issues facing tree officers:

“The MTOA are proud to support and jointly represent this inaugural conference which is predominantly aimed towards tree officers and urban foresters. In times of austerity and budget cuts we look to share ideas and explore opportunities to deliver a service that is within our respective budgets and retains our legally defensible positions.

“We hope to raise awareness, provoke thought and discussion to highlight the problems we all currently face – where do we go from here and how do we get there? It is hoped that this will be the first of many conferences of its kind and we look forward to support and attendance at what will be an eye opening and encouraging day.”

This event is kindly sponsored by Barcham Trees, Buxtons Ltd, Ezytreev, GreenBlue Urban and KBI UK. Booking information is available at: www.charteredforesters.org/tree-officers-conference

2017 Tree Inspection Workshops with Frank Rinn

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After the huge success of the 2016 workshops MTOA are pleased to announce more dates for 2017

These are hands-on class’s so delegate numbers are limited.

When: 27th and 28th September 2017

Where: Midland Arts Centre, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham

 

  • How can you tell if a tree is safe?
  • Do you want to make better tree assessments, increase your knowledge of tree biomechanics, wood decay and diagnostic tools?
  • Is increasing the precision and accuracy of your inspections and reports important?

Back-to-back workshops with Frank Rinn, inventor of the RESISTOGRAPH and Tomograph and world famous instructor on tree inspection can help you to be a better municipal arborist.

MTOA is bringing Frank Rinn in from Heidelberg, Germany just for these advanced workshops. Classroom topics will include: wood anatomy, tree biomechanics, the effects of pruning and cabling, and possibilities and limitations of technical inspection methods. Outdoor hands-on field time with Frank and his assistants will include: resistance drilling, sonic tomography and sonic root plate assessment.

Added Bonus:

Everyone registering the Day 1 Tree Safety Workshop will receive an ArboMech-software licence (WIN, ANDROID, or MacOSX). This software allows to determine how strong a cross-section is weakened by a defect and this can be done on a PC/Notebook, tablet, or smartphone (at the tree).

Everyone registering for the Day 2 Advanced Tree Safety Workshop will receive an ArWiLo-software licence (WIN, ANDROID, or MacOSX). This software allows to determine the impact of pruning on wind-load reduction and this can be done on a PC/Notebook, tablet, or smartphone (at the tree).

Registration Fees:
Day 1: £85 MTOA members (£135 non-member)
Day 2: £85 MTOA members (£135 non-member)
Both Days: £150 MTOA members (£225 non-member)
(Seven day cancellation policy)

 

Contact the MTOA office to register your place now, these will sell out early. enquiries@mtoa.co.uk 

MTOA AGM 2014

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Diary Date; The MTOA Annual General Meeting wil be held on the 10th December 2014 in Dudley.

As part of the meeting we will be looking at Flexi-pave installations around trees and hearing about the “green contract” available to allow your authority to be trained in the installation of this very effective product.

The rest of the programme is still to be finalised, so watch this space and your inbox for further details.