AUGUST 2016 N O . 1 9 3 Opportunities for Arboriculture and Urban Forestry Training and Education By Mollie Freilicher, We are fortunate here in New Arborists programs require certified arborists to obtain Community Action Forester England to have so many oppor- continuing education credits to maintain their creden- tunities to improve our knowledge of arboriculture and tials. urban forestry and to stay up-to-date with the latest While there are many educational opportunities, year- research and best practices. There are trainings designed round, fall is often particularly good for them. Here is a for tree wardens, arborists, urban foresters, volunteers, sampling of what you can take advantage of: and enthusiasts. Advanced Tree Risk Assessment, In addition, there are certifications that professionals can August 18-19, 2016, Hanover, NH achieve to distinguish themselves and their training and This comprehensive, two-day workshop covers Level 3 experience. The International Society of Arboriculture’s Advanced Tree Risk Assessments. The first day focuses Certified Arborist program recognizes arborists, through on classroom activities covering risk theory and methods a written exam, who have a certain level of knowledge in of non-invasive site and tree assessment and diagnosis. multiple aspects of arboriculture, as well as at least three The second day is field-based and focuses on the use of a years of practical, professional experience. This certifica- range of invasive diagnostic tools. Earn 15 ISA CEUs, in- tion also distinguishes these arborists because ISA Certi- cluding BCMA. Cost $250. www.newenglandisa.org. fied Arborists are required to follow the ISA Code of Ethics. Additionally, the ISA offers some specialty certifi- Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop, cations, in addition to Certified Arborist, including Utility September 9-11, 2016, Petersham, MA Specialist for those working in utility vegetation manage- This training teaches women how to improve and excel ment; Municipal Specialist for those in the world of tree climbing. It is designed for women Up Ahead: working for cities and towns; Tree who have never climbed trees before with ropes and Training and Worker Climber Specialist for those harnesses, to women with prior experience who want to Education 1-2 demonstrating climbing skills, aerial improve their ability. Cost $500-$650, Scholarships avail. Species rescue, CPR, and First Aid training; www.womenstreeclimbingworkshop.com. Spotlight 3-4 Tree Worker Aerial Lift Specialist for DCR Tree Steward Training, Growing on those demonstrating expertise in using October 14-15, 2016, Petersham, MA Trees 5-7 lift equipment in tree work; and, This two-day training is designed for tree committee Growing Board Certified Master Arborist, the volunteers, tree wardens, and other tree enthusiasts and Greener 6 highest arborist certification that ISA covers topics including tree ID, pruning, tree health, and Grants 7 offers. others. Earn ISA and MCA CEUs. Cost $55. Contact Forest The Massachusetts Arborist Associa- [email protected]. Legacy RFP 7 tion offers the Massachusetts Certified Tree City! 8-9 ISA Exam Prep Course, Arborist certification which was October 19-21, 2016, Acton, MA Gleanings 10 started in 1957 and distinguishes News 11 This three-day course instructs on the sixteen compo- arborists through a challenging written nents of the ISA Arborists’ Certification Study Guide. On the exam. Both the ISA and Massachusetts Horizon 12 (Continued on page 2) P A G E 2 AUGUST 2016 Opportunities for Arboriculture and Urban Forestry Training and Education (Continued from page 1) Ongoing Programs Arnold Arboretum The goal of the course is to prepare participants to take Tree Spotters Citizen Science, Introduction to Botany, the ISA Certified Arborist exam. Cost $175. and more. www.newenglandisa.org http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/education/adult- New England Chapter ISA 50th Annual education/ for more information. Conference, November 5-8, 2016, Burlington, VT Massachusetts Arborist Association Dinner This annual conference offers educational opportunities Meeting, September 27, 2016, Framingham, MA on a variety of arboricultural topics. This year’s schedule www.massarbor.org includes: Trees Responses to Ice Storm Damage, Trees vs. Turf, Wood Decay Fungi, and more. There are also New England Wildflower Society—ongoing pre-conference workshops, CPR and First Aid certifica- courses tion, and the opportunity to take ISA Certification ex- Pruning Fundamentals, New England Plant Diversity, ams. Cost $200 and up. New England ISA. Plants 101, Framework Trees of New England, Plant Form and Function, Understanding and Managing Soils, UMass Extension Green School, and more. Go to http://newfs.org/learn/our-programs/ October 24, - December 12, 2016, Milford, MA for more information. This biennial course is geared toward landscape practitio- ners: landscapers, grounds managers, arborists, and oth- Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and ers. It offers three tracks: arboriculture, landscape man- Foresters’ Association agement, and turf. The arboriculture track offers a com- Western Massachusetts Tree Wardens Dinner prehensive curriculum that includes plant form and func- meeting, September 20, 2016, Northampton, MA tion, integrated pest management and plant health care, Also –Professional Development Series on a variety soils, entomology and pathology, pruning, cabling, storm of topics. Find out more at http://masstreewardens.org/ preparation, i-Tree, and tree risk identification and man- agement. You can view the entire arboriculture track here: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/education/green- Check your Trees for Pests school/green-school-arboriculture-track. Earn a certifi- cate and prepare to take a professional certification August 2016 marks the eighth anniversary of the exam. Cost: $825 by 9/23 or $925 after 9/23. For more discovery of Asian longhorned beetle in Massachusetts. information: www.umassgreeninfo.org and click “Green Since that day in 2008, more than 30,000 hardwood School.” trees have been removed because of this invasive pest. In 2012, Emerald Ash Borer, another invasive pest, was New England Grows, found in Berkshire County and has since been found November 30 – December 2, 2016, Boston, MA multiple counties across the Commonwealth. Come to New England Grows to see the latest equip- ment and to hear from regional and national speakers on Join your fellow citizens during the month of August a variety of arboricultural and landscape topics. and check your trees for signs of damage caused by www.newenglandgrows.org. Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer. Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ For information on Asian longhorned beetle: Association 104th Annual Conference, January 10- https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests- 11, 2017, Sturbridge, MA diseases/asian-longhorned-beetle/Find-It This packed, two-day conference offers a great lineup of For information on emerald ash borer: http:// speakers on a variety of arboriculture and urban forestry massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/ topics, along with networking opportunities, and great emeraldashborer.html#id exhibitors. www.masstreewardens.org. THE CITIZEN FORESTER department of Conservation and Recreation AUGUST 2016 P A G E 3 Species Spotlight—Monkey puzzle By Mollie Freilicher, DCR This month we are looking at key puzzle, see the Community Action Forester tree that is somewhat of a Wikipedia entry listed novelty in the United States and is probably not a tree at the end of this piece.] you’ll be seeing streetside in Massachusetts any time Pehuén is what the tree soon. If you have never heard of monkey puzzle, you are is called in Chile, where not alone, as it is not a tree commonly seen in the it is sacred to the Pe- Northeast. The Spanish explorer Don Francisco huenche people. The Dendariarena was the first European to describe monkey seeds have been part of puzzle in 1780 while examining its possibility as a mate- their diet, and the tree rial for shipbuilding. By 1782, it had been identified as is also part of their Pinus araucaria, though now we know that to be botani- spiritual life. cally incorrect. In the 1780s, the tree was still unknown to Europe in In Chile and Argentina, a living state. monkey puzzle is a long-lived tree, capable of surviving That changed for 1,000 years and reaching heights of 150 feet. It is also in 1795, when an ancient tree that was around during the Jurassic pe- the botanist riod, 200 million years ago, where perhaps its spines pro- and naval tected it from herbivory. It is a tree of disturbed areas— surgeon areas disturbed Archibald by volcanoes or Menzies, on a fire. voyage with Its form is George unique, being Vancouver, brought living plants to the United Kingdom. quite stiff and Menzies came by the seeds when they were served to spare. Leaves of him as dessert at a dinner he attended at the invitation of monkey puzzle an official in Valparaiso. Instead of eating them, he saved are evergreen them and planted them during the journey back to and are ar- England, where, upon ranged spirally around branches. They are a lustrous his arrival, he had five green, and are lanceolate, with a sharp, pointy tip. They small plants. One of are dense along the stem. Michael Dirr, in his Manual of these plants survived at Woody Landscape Plants, reports about 24 leaves per inch. Kew Gardens for 100 When young, the brown bark is scaly, due to leaves that years. Slowly, it became persist on the trunk. As the tree ages, these disappear a popular tree in and the bark becomes furrowed. Europe. Monkey puzzle is dioecious, with male flowers occurring Monkey puzzle is in the in catkins, three-to-five inches long, and female flowers in order Pinales, but is not large cones, shaped like a pineapple, which mature in in the family Pinaceae, but in the family Araucariaceae, two years. (The name for the fruit in Spanish is “piňa,” along with other species in the genus Araucaria, Agathis, meaning pineapple.) The seeds are large, about 1.5 and Wollemia.