Educated Climber.com

EducatedClimber Podcast Episode 1 – Introduction and Manifesto

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Welcome friends! So excited to get the new podcast out to the world. No set format, no set length, opinionated and raw, the podcast will explore primarily the business side of the industry, with interviews from innovators and entrepreneurs who make their living in the canopy. This is gonna be good!

In this first episode we explore a little bit about my background in both audio recording and tree work, and we set out the framework for what you can expect from the podcast in the future. Be sure to subscribe through your podcast player of choice to get automatic notifications of future episodes!

This episode is brought to you by ‘The Fundamentals of General Tree Work – Digital Edition’ by G.F. “Jerry” Beranek. Get your copy today!

 

 

The Illusion of Safety: Safe vs. Safer vs. Safer-er

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photo courtesy of Reddit – /r/WTF/

“You have your way, I have my way.
As for the right way, the correct way, the only way – it does not exist.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

 

 

<sarcasm>

Good day friends, today I want to talk to you about climbing and production tree work. Sound good? Ok, let’s begin.

Today you are going to learn the master key, the grand secret of tree work. This will probably change your life. Pay attention now, we’re going to move fast. Here it is – 

Safety, safety, safety, safety, safety, safety.

Safety! Safety.

Safety, safety, safety. (Safety, safety).

safety………….

“Safety?” Safety!

And just so we’re clear… SAFETY!

I hope you learned as much from that as I did. This concludes the lesson, carry on with your day.

Climb safe, Work safe, Read safe.
– TreeMuggs

Meow let’s all get out there and just be safe. OK?

</sarcasm>

 

Wait. Let’s start over. First of all, some definitions:

Safe

/sāf/

adjective

1. protected from or not exposed to danger or risk;
2. in other words, a utopian condition continually strived for, but impossible to attain, due to the nature of… reality.

Safer, Safer-er, Safest, etc.

/sāfər/

adjective

1. illusory and subjective concept with no endpoint; these terms are therefore to be defined as: undefined.

Safety Police

/’sāftē  pəˈlēs/

noun

1. a small but vocal minority of people in this trade, usually (but not exclusively) encountered online, who feel the need to validate their own superior knowledge by continually pointing out how things could have been done “safer” and “safer-er”. Unofficial Motto: “Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt”.

 

Context

First of all, I work in the private sector. I run my own tree service. What little money I make from this enterprise helps to put food on the table. In other words, my production at work matters. I have to get stuff done to get paid. I can’t take 2 1/2 days to get a tree down. We don’t have guys with white hats standing around. I don’t work for a city, or a municipality, or “hydro”. If you do, mazel tov. I have more friends in the industry who have left the private sector than those who have stuck around. They leave for the better pay, the benefits, the pension, and all the other perks. I get why they leave. I don’t hold it against them, and I’m not envious of their position. Why do I stick around in the private sector? I stick around because I value freedom more than security. Being my own boss affords me a freedom that my friends elsewhere simply don’t have. I set my own schedule, I choose my own customers, I make my own way. I say all of that to give you some context for where I’m coming from.

I may take a lot of flack for this article from the Safety Police and others in the “industry”, but this is a subject that needs to be addressed. This is something that a whole lot of people think about, but it is politically incorrect to talk about. I care about safety as much as the next guy, but make no mistake, nobody cares more about your own personal safety than you do.

What is Safety?

I care deeply about safety. I want nothing more for myself or my employees than for all of us to be able to go home at the end of the day intact. But make no mistake, the reason that we all come to work each day is not to “be safe”. Sorry if you’ve been told otherwise. No, the reason that we all come to work each day is to get shit done.

I believe that safety in terms of a production arborist has a lot more to do with how you interact with others, rather than how you interact with yourself. Once you know the rules of the game, only you can define what is “safe” for yourself. If I’m on a ground crew and I get hit without warning by a big chunk of tree, what does it matter that the climber who sent it down was using 2 lanyards, both with a 540 wrap, and 2 climbing lines “for redundancy”?

There is a strong correlation between a climber who exhibits good personal safety and also works hard in a team setting to watch out for other’s safety. But correlation does not imply causation. Again, nobody cares more about your own personal safety than you do.

Safe Enough

I want to introduce a concept that seems to have been lost on most institutional teachers and trainers, as well as the infamous “safety police” that lurks online. That is the concept of “safe enough”. We must make allowance for “safe enough” because things could ALWAYS be “safer” and “safer-er”.

If you are a trained and competent climber and you want to spur up a tree with just a lanyard and no climbing rope belay, then go ahead.  I’m not going to put my Safety Police hat on and lecture you on how you could be “safer” or “safer-er”. The important thing here is to be “trained and competent”, and this means knowing the what-ifs, knowing what you are trying to avoid. You need to understand the rules and why they are there, before you can break them. As long as you know what a kickout is and how to avoid it by keeping your weight on the spurs and lanyard, then spurring with just a lanyard is “safe”. Old-timers used to actually refer to their lanyard as their “safety” – i.e. the lanyard is what makes spurring safe. Would you be “safer” with a secondary, backup lanyard? Probably. Would you be “safer-er” by setting a climbing rope from the ground and belaying as you ascend? Yes, you would be. But just because you choose not to, that does not make spurring with just a lanyard “unsafe”. Do you see the difference? The Safety Police would have you believe that if something is even a bit less than “safer-er” then it must be “unsafe”. This is a false dichotomy, because climbing trees is inherently unsafe. 

At some point, there must exist a “safe enough”. We must make allowance for “safe enough” because at the end of the day, we do actually need to get up there and get the work done. If the one and only situation in which we can say that we are really, truly safe is when we stay at home and lie in bed, then we have a serious problem. Not only that, but couldn’t I argue that if you are “safe” at home in bed, you would be “safer” at home in bed with a helmet on? Wouldn’t you be “safer-er” if you moved your bed down into the basement in case of tornado? What about hurricanes and floods? Raging wild fires? Bed bugs?

 

Safety is an illusion. You can NEVER be perfectly, well and truly safe. We are climbing living organisms, natural systems that could fail at any time, while swinging around on little nylon ropes with running chainsaws for God’s sakes! This is not a safe thing to do!

 

Concept: Minimum Effective Dose (M.E.D.)

The Safety Police are always obsessed with “safer”, but what does that even mean? This is a game that has no endpoint. Water boils at 100°C (212°F) – that is the minimum effective dose for boiling water. At any given time, water is either boiled, or it isn’t. Bringing water up to 150°C does not make it “more boiled”. (Borrowed from “The 4-Hour Body” by Tim Ferriss.)

When you work on a crew, safety is everybody’s job. You need to work as a team: everybody looks out for everybody else. Does that make it a “safe” situation? No. Tree work is dangerous. Driving to work every morning is dangerous. But we still have to get to work. So, we apply the minimum effective dose of safety to our driving.

  • seatbelts, brakes, airbags, not texting, paying attention, etc.
  • would we be “safer” wearing helmets and full body harnesses like in Nascar? Yes, we would. Would we be “safer-er” if we never drove faster than 30 mph? Yes, we would. Could I keep going with this analogy? Yes, I could go on for quite some time. My point is, we have agreed on a certain base level of safety precautions, and at some point, we just have to put our faith in Providence, hop in the car, and get to work. 

 

Conclusion

Please don’t take any of this the wrong way. I am certainly not condoning any behaviors that we can all agree are unsafe. I simply need you to understand that tree work is not about safety. It’s about work. Of course we strive for safety in the execution of our work, but the reason that we come to work is not to “be safe”. Learn the rules of the game. Learn how to get the work done in the best and safest way possible. Just don’t be delusional about why we do what we do. Going back to our driving analogy, we could argue on the interwebs about what is “safer-er” all day long, but arguing does not get us from point A to point B… driving does.

 

Climb high, Work smart, Read more. Oh, also, be safe (seriously).

– TreeMuggs

 

Travelin’ Man

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What a year it was! Thank you so much to all of my friends and followers, I couldn’t do it without you!

I recorded this song with my friend Scott, way back in 2007. I dusted it off for this project, and it ended up being the perfect tune. It’s unreal how much footage you get from an entire season of tree work. Filming adds a whole new dimension to the job, I love it! Let me know what you think, your comments and kind words are what keep me going. I appreciate you all so much!

Happy holidays friends!

– Patrick (TreeMuggs)

 

 

 

Our Role as Arborists

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– image courtesy of pacifichorticulture.org

 

“An arborist’s career is centered around maintaining the health and beauty of trees.”

In my opinion, our role as arborists is to be committed to all aspects of tree conservation, preservation, and environmental stewardship.

I believe that the benefits of trees to the urban landscape are unmistakable, yet trees take so long to grow that they cannot simply be replaced if damaged or removed. I believe that any “tree service” can cut trees down, but it takes a true professional to provide for the long-term health and well being of our cherished landscape trees. Our role as “Green Industry” professionals is to help educate homeowners on how best to preserve and protect the natural heritage of our modern urban ecosystem.

Since finishing my own apprenticeship, my business has been built around helping my customers make more informed decisions about their trees and landscape. Nowhere is this more evident than in my own commitment to helping customers visualize solutions to tree issues and being able to provide workable compromises to tree removal. Yes, sometimes trees will be need to be removed, but in my experience, pruning and other measures can often be used systematically to save trees from removal. In this way, we both, accomplish the goals of those involved, while also acting as good stewards of the urban environment, our natural heritage.

Look, let’s be honest. I do a lot of removals. That is just part of the trade. There is a very real concept of ‘wrong tree, wrong place’. I get it. All I’m saying, is that our primary focus as professional arborists, ought to be on trimming and preservation, rather than on removals. There are untold numbers of ‘tree guys’ out there, who go around cutting trees down for cutthroat prices, with no consideration for the future of the neighborhoods that they operate in. But the reality is this: trees take an incredibly long time to grow. You can lose your entire lawn, call a sod guy, and within a few hours, you can have a brand new lawn. It just doesn’t work that way with trees. Trees are a long-term investment. Trees are the elder statesmen of the urban landscape. They are unlike all man-made structures, and different than all of the other aspects of landscape design. Trees are unique, and they deserve our utmost respect and admiration. I love trees, but I’m not a tree-hugger. If you can understand that contradiction, then you can start to understand how I see our unique role in the community at large, both as professional arborists, and as business and thought leaders.

So, there it is. Thoughts? Opinions? Let’s continue the conversation….

Climb high, Work smart, Read more.
– TreeMuggs

 

Before the Work Begins

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“We are not at our best perched at the summit; we are climbers, at our best when the way is steep.”
– John W. Gardner

Early morning. Before the saws and chipper break the silence. While you can still hear the birds calling to each other. You’re itching to get started. All anticipation and nerves. Maybe you had too much coffee. You just want to get up there. Do something meaningful with your day.

Patience.

When the canopy is so accessible and inviting, how could you be content to stay on the ground? Trees call to you. Maybe it’s a primate thing. You were made to climb and swing and hang, that’s what feels natural. It’s in your blood. It’s who you are. It’s who we all are. Most people just don’t know it. But you do. You feel the call.

Patience.

Climbing makes you feel like a kid. It was something you used to do for fun. Not because someone said you had to. Not because a teacher said you should. Not for your parents. Just for you. And now you get to do that for a living? How cool is that?

Patience.

Today, rather than talking about climbing, I wanted to take a look at some of the pre-game rituals of production tree work. Because the climbing, cutting, and rigging is only one aspect of tree work. There is a lot more that goes into a successful tree job, before the job even begins. So let’s just slow down a bit and explore some of those things before we get climbing…

Person in Charge

On every job site there must be a qualified arborist in charge of operations. The ANSI Z133 – American National Standards for Arboricultural Operations, Safety Requirements, defines a “qualified arborist” as:

  • “an individual who, by possession of a recognized degree, certification, or professional standing, or through related training and on-the-job experience, is familiar with the equipment and hazards involved in arboricultural operations and who has demonstrated ability in the performance of the special techniques involved.”

Leadership

Just because someone has been deemed to be “in charge”, do not assume this makes them a good leader. Leadership is a huge topic of which entire books can be found, but in my mind, leadership comes down to communication and ownership.

  1. Communication
    An effective leader communicates well. That’s the bottom line. How can an employee be held accountable for anything, (anything!), if they haven’t been trained properly and effectively on exactly what their responsibilities are, how to complete all of the tasks assigned to them, and how those tasks fit into the framework of what everyone else on the jobsite is doing? Do not assume anything of any employee, especially the new guy!
  2. Ownership
    If you are in charge and something goes wrong, it’s your fault. End of story. That’s ownership. You may not like that, and it may not seem fair, but guess what? That’s reality.

Safety Mentality

Although the person in charge is ultimately accountable for the job, the entire crew shares the responsibility for safety and they should help to assess the jobsite. All crew members are responsible for their own safety as well as the safety of others. On a crew, everyone looks out for everyone else. However, never assume that someone else is more interested in your own personal safety than you are. This may sound contradictory at first, but it will probably make more sense the longer you work in this trade.

Roles and Responsibilities

In addition to recognizing that there is one person on-site who is ultimately responsible for the job, it is critical that everyone else knows their roles and responsibilities. When people operate in groups, clearly defined roles can make the difference between success and failure. Tasks that are just taken care of “by everyone” are the ones that most often cause problems. Roles and responsibilities cannot be fuzzy. Everyone loves to play the blame game and pass the buck, but the true professional takes responsibility because he knows what is required of him. Again, this concept of clearly defined roles derives from strong leadership and communication.

Emergency Preparedness

A critical part of personal responsibility for all arborists is that they are ready and prepared to respond to an emergency situation. Basic preparation includes:

  • Know the location where you are working, including street address and basic directions.
    – this information would be crucial in an emergency, e.g. calling 911
  • All tree care workers must know location of first aid kits and fire extinguishers.
  • Training in first aid and CPR is invaluable for all workers.
  • All workers should have basic knowledge of aerial rescue scenarios including bucket truck and climber rescues (High Angle Rescue).
  • All workers must be proficient with ground controls for bucket trucks.
    – this would be crucial in an aerial rescue situation where bucket operator was incapacitated or bucket controls were not functioning properly
  • Bucket truck operators must always carry an emergency rope that will reach the ground, and be experienced in bailing out of a bucket at height

Site Inspection and Jobsite Staging

Before commencing work, the jobsite must be examined for moveable and immoveable targets. I bet you never knew how much money there was in lawn ornaments, solar lights, and little gnomes until you got into this business, eh?

  • Move everything that can be moved, and try to remember where it goes so you can put it back when you are finished.
  • Tie back shrubs or branches along drag path or make some small trimming cuts if necessary.
  • Make sure gates or fences are propped open, tie back if necessary.
  • Unscrew drainpipe extensions if they are in the way and put in a safe place, to be replaced at the end of the job.
  • Make sure the chipper is angled away from the house so that long branches do not scrape the siding as they get drawn in by the feed wheels.

Job Briefing/Tailboard Talk

Don’t just fire up the chipper and grab the polesaw. Take the time to have at least a quick tailboard talk. The following details must be understood by the entire crew before work begins:

  • Roles and Responsibilities: who is responsible for what.
  • Scope of Work: everyone must know exactly what is to be done onsite.
  • Gear: all necessary gear is onsite and ready to go.
  • Crowd control: you must be proactive about pedestrians and bystanders walking onto your jobsite. Cones, caution tape, signs, flags, etc, etc. They will walk around all of those things. Trust me on this. Be aware of it.
  • Plan: everyone must know the basic plan, including safety considerations, how the work will be done, what the drop zones/landing zones are, what the drag path will be, etc.

Tree Inspection

Before any work begins on a tree, it must be inspected from the ground. Proper and thorough tree inspection requires experience and patience. Unsafe trees should not be climbed or rigged from. Tree inspection is too broad of a topic to tackle here, so let’s just look at the basics.

These are some of the major hazards to be aware of when inspecting a tree (not a comprehensive list):

  1. Large dead wood, widow makers, and hangers
  2. Cavities
  3. Cracks
  4. Weak Branch Unions (i.e tight crotches)
  5. Decay
  6. Mushrooms (fruiting bodies)
  7. Cankers
  8. Root problems (i.e. digging/construction, poor soil drainage, mushrooms, etc)
  9. Poor tree form (i.e. lean, storm damage, improper pruning, topping, etc.
  10. Lack of taper
  11. Structural defects
  12. Loose bark
  13. Electrical wires
  14. Insects/animals

Heart Rot vs. Sap Rot

Knowing a bit about wood decay fungi is critical to proper tree inspection before work begins. Identifying the fungus type (heart rot vs. sap rot) and assessing overall tree vitality can help forecast the spread of decay.

Heart rot refers to any fungus that erodes wood tissue from the inside out. As most arborists are aware, trees that have extensive internal decay and hollow portions can still retain an immense amount of strength. This is because the most important factor in stem strength is the integrity of the cambium – the outer few inches of the tree. Sap rot refers to any fungus that erodes wood tissue from the outside in, and is considerably more dangerous than heart rot. For this reason, it is critical that tree care professionals are able to distinguish heart rot from sap rot.

Distinguishing Heart Rot from Sap Rot

Heart rot fungus is generally recognized by the presence of large fungal fruiting bodies, also known as conks or mushrooms. These usually occur in small numbers and are localized. Mushrooms such as this are usually a sure sign of extensive internal decay. However, trees with such decay can live for a very long time without failing, due to the nature of heart rot and the biological structure of tree stems.

Heart rot fungus (photo courtesy of extension.umn.edu)

Heart rot fungus should be considered a yellow flag when evaluating tree integrity, as it may or may not indicate a significant risk factor for tree workers.

Sap rot fungus is usually recognized as smaller fruiting bodies in large numbers that can cover large areas of wood. This type of fungal decay is far more dangerous than heart rot, as it can dramatically effect the strength and structural integrity of a stem.

Sap rot fungus    (photo courtesy of ouachitamaps.com)

Stems with extensive sap rot such as this shown here are prone to failure under the stresses of rigging and/or climbing operations, and extreme caution must be exercised before beginning work on such a tree. Sap rot fungus must be considered a red flag when evaluating tree integrity, as it almost certainly indicates a significant risk factor for tree workers.

The Mental Game

Ok, so you have prepped the jobsite, everyone knows what the job entails and what their role is, and you have determined that the tree to be worked on is safe to climb. Now just jump up there right? Patience.

Before you go aloft, you need to make sure that your head is in the game. Dangling from a little nylon rope with a running chainsaw is not a lighthearted endeavor. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are ready just because your ropes and your muscles can get you up there. Climbing requires a tremendous amount of mental focus and clarity. I know for myself, the times that I have struggled the most were the times that my head wasn’t fully in the game. I simply cannot do my best work when my mind is preoccupied with all the affairs that I failed to leave behind on the ground. Each move, each cut, requires visualization and foresight, and I simply cannot give it the attention it deserves if I am not fully immersed in the moment.

I have one small ritual that I do from time to time when I feel like my mind is racing before a climb. I put my hand on the bark, close my eyes, and just breathe. I try to feel a connection with the tree. This helps bring me back to center and re-focus my thoughts on the task at hand. Then, when I open my eyes, I am calm and ready to go.

Get Up There

Climbing arborists come from all walks of life. Some climbers are slow and cautious, deliberately planning each and every move to keep their monkey mind in check. Others are full of piss and vinegar, halfway up the tree before the rest of the crew has even gotten out of the truck. We are each so different, but yet, we feel a close bond to one another, as if we are all part of the same family. We also feel a special bond to nature. Our work affords us a very unique viewpoint on the world. Trees are amazing and majestic, but they demand our utmost respect. We do not take climbing lightly. We cannot.

 

Climb high, Work smart, Read more.
– Patrick

 

I would love to hear from you. Please send all comments/questions/hatemail to patrick@educatedclimber.com