What are ISA membership benifits.

[boreality]

I experienced my first tangible benifit to being a Cert. Arborist. The City of Saskatoon will allow only CAs to dump chips at their wood dumps. My head was spinning as the girl explained this. This was obviously set up by city counsel with the prompting of the parks arborist, not the ISA. It is one way to control the hold-my-beer tree cutters, who just dump in ditches anyway.
In my area I have to spell arborist almost every time I say it, thats why I put it in my company name. Other than the fact we need an organization to do whatever it can to promote proper tree care, create unity, and provide the oppertunity to enjoy four days straight of lectures at the conferences to aquire CEUs. Also remembering the proffesion is relatively new, and progress takes time. One example is some jurisdictios require CA creds to obtain contracts. What are the benifits others have experienced? Or is it just an expense.

 

[treegazer]

Moving halfway across the country with no job prospects and finding contacts through ISA. Being certified I was able to get a good job.

 

[boreality]

I realize some of you have volunteered thousands of hours/days to make this organization what it is today. And the results are impressive. I'm probably not a club/ organization type of guy, and I really would be competing with the hacks and matching their prices, oh ya that's what I'm doing. It's just tough in a small market out in the hinterland. There is more benifits than I realize but I'd like to see the only one that matters right now which is financial. It's probably like the search for the grail to expect that only CAs be allowed to work on trees like a licenced electrician, which often has an inspector check his work, but jeez it sure would be nice.

 

[jeff_r]

[ QUOTE ]
It's probably like the search for the grail to expect that only CAs be allowed to work on trees like a licenced electrician, which often has an inspector check his work, but jeez it sure would be nice.

[/ QUOTE ]

There are plenty of places where this is the case - pruning of protected species or significant trees require a permit from the local municipality. Pruning has to be done by a CA or a reputable company run by one. Not every CA is the same, but it does make it easier for the municipality to manage the permit process. The municipal arborist will come by afterwards and check if they have time, or if they want some QA, but after a while they know what to expect from local companies and let them do their thing. On southern Vancouver Island, for example, garry oaks are protected in most places, and every professional tree person will know about the permit processes in the different municpalities.

I have moved to a more rural location where I too have to spell arborist for people once in a while. When asked what an arborist is, I sometimes joke that we are in the woodwind section of the orchestra. . .

 

[boreality]

What about the arbutus? A common rumour was that the English Queen had visited Canada and taken a liking to the arbutus. People were required to apply to the queen herself in order to cut one down. That has changed to the provincial gov. currently I understand. If they are still protected. Perhaps trees need a patron saint like the Queen or some other political leader to give the ISA more clout. I would like to see the ISA expand out of the city limits to lobby for forest protection, before we just become currators of a tree museum.

 

[guymayor]

[ QUOTE ]
I would like to see the ISA expand out of the city limits to lobby for forest protection, before we just become currators of a tree museum.

[/ QUOTE ]And charge all the people a dollar and a half just to see em?

Joni M mentioned Arbutus in her songs too. Heard it in the wind last night...

American Forests does some good work with forest management;not ISA's bag.

re benefits, lots of muni work here from CA also, and BCMA even more, and like treegazer it's a great network for finding the kind of work I like to do. The information; hard to quantify but if you can communicate tree science to tree owners they are much more likely to trust you with their trees and tree budgets.

 

[Northwind]

The ISA is a member supported professional association. It's a club, among other other things.

The ISA states that one of it's core values is strong peer support and networking opportunities.

Call up Saskatoon's Forestry division and arrange an informal meet with one of your Parks Arborists, heck, coffee at T Ho's, whatever.

Might get you name recognition for any possible upcoming City contracts, or maybe you just sit and chat about trees.

Can't hurt...

Northwind

 

[boreality]

The options for networking appear to be, conferences, competitions, and thank god, or the moderators, treebuzz. Conferences, though informative, can be boring and the most knowledge gained is during the breaks chating with others. Competitions are fun and I'm sure good learning experiences, but there is only one winner, and unfortunatly there is no spurring up, blocking down segment which I could kick some butt in, as that's about all I do. Hows about a tree fest with live bands, campfires, rec. climbing, no competition. In diferent unique forest areas which need protection(redwoods). Some slackline fun, a big swing, a zipline, and the many disiplines of tree work gathered, from tree planters to nursery workers, loggers(if there's any left), and of course tree huggers. Maybe some trail building or pruning volunteer work. All this and CEUs as well. I know, why don't I get off my butt and organize it if I want it,or if it exsisted would I go anyway, and what about staying on one subject per thread. If I followed the rules and conformed I'd be like a salmon swimming upstream, which is what I'm feeling like. I could be stressing out following a slow season. My appologies, but hopefully some creative ideas in this tread, and it was free, so what the heck.

 

[boreality]

Seeing as to date over 200 people have viewed my rant. I should explain further. I had an opportunity to speak to the local municipality's enviromental commitee, my first chance to be more than a guy with a chainsaw, and I couldn't make it because I had to cut down stumps and load blocks in another city. So rather than blame myself I took it out on the ISA, I could have blamed my helpers, or the weather, but I screwed up. Better sharpen the chains some more.

 

[Northwind]

All is not lost.

The beauty (and the horror) of any Municipal Committee is that once it has been struck, there is nothing short of an Act of God that can end it.

Call them, re-schedule, brush-up and speak.

Northwind