This years Australian Tree Climbing Championships and Arboriculture Australia Annual Conference are being held in Hobart Tasmania on 27th of April until the 2nd of May. It is also going to be the venue of the Asia Pacific Tree Climbing Championships over the same weekend.
Defending national champions Joe Harris and Kiah Martin will be going against the nation’s best climbers for the top spot.
The VTIO and all its members would like to wish the follow representatives from Victoria the best of luck in the ATCC:
Gerard Reynolds 4th place VTCC
Matt Weatherhead 6th place VTCC
Matt Benn 7th place VTCC
Juri Megarrity 10th place VTCC
Matt Sauvarin 11th place VTCC
For more information on the AA annual conference and ATCC please refer to the PDF below.
http://vtio.org.au/Content/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012-Conference-rego-Brochure-Web-Email.pdf
Worksafe has supplied the VTIO with the following links to provide those looking for further information about OH&S in the tree industry with the relevant documents.
The first link is to the Worksafe website. The second is Worksafes incident notification page. And the third is Worksafes guide to working safely with trees.
www.worksafe.vic.gov.au
Incident notification
Working Safely with Trees
I am sorry to have to inform you that we have had to postpone this year’s Australian ArborCamp which was due to be held Friday to Sunday, 23-25 March at Erica Scout Camp, Victoria.
Following extensive consultation with VTIO committee members and volunteers, and given prior volunteer commitments and schedule clashes; resignation of the long-time Camp co-ordinator and difficulty attracting a new Camp co-ordinator; low volunteer numbers and insufficient event management assistance, it was determined that going ahead with ArborCamp with only weeks to co-ordinate all the necessary behind the scenes and front-of-house activities would mean genuine and unacceptable compromise.
We did attempt to resolve alternatives to a major event; suggested alternative dates; considered a scaled-back event and an informal-style gathering, but felt that all of these options were compromising the expectations of regular camp-goers and would mar the overall experience for any newcomers.
Therefore, on behalf of the VTIO committee, I would like to sincerely apologise for the cancellation of the 2012 ArborCamp, especially to those who may have already made travel or accommodation plans. Unfortunately these were a collection of circumstances which were beyond the committee’s ability to control.
We intend to work hard behind the scenes getting our event management and administrative affairs in better shape in order to deliver better event preparation and management and to bring you an ArborCamp worthy of fond memories.
Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss any matters pertaining to ArborCamp or if you’d like to register interest as a volunteer for any VTIO activities.
We aim to ensure our next Camp is a fun-filled, family event full of opportunity to network and relax and we do hope you will join us once we have regrouped.
Yours sincerely
Kiah Martin
VTIO President
Many thanks to all the Victorian tree workers, climbers and arborists who have pitched in over the last 6 months to help raise money for Scott’s family, left without him when he was tragically killed on Aug 5 last year. For those of you who don’t know, the Yale SSharpe climbing rope that was designed by John Canning of ATRAES to help raise money for the family is now on sale from Cannings and through the ATRAES website, so if your climbing line is in need of replacement, now’s the time to invest in some of this great cordage.
If you are feeling like investing, then you might also want to look at Scott’s truck and chipper. Both were second-hand when he bought them, but knowing Scott’s attention to detail they would have been the pick of the bunch. The truck has been extensively modified, by Scott and to Scott’s designs, with a custom built body, tool boxes and mulch bin. It’s a 4WD truck with a bull bar and winch, so it’s pretty capable off road as well as in the suburbs. The chipper is a Vermeer BC1400, so a pretty good sized machine, with 3283 hours on the clock.
Olivia has worked out how much was spent on buying the truck and chipper, and then doing them both up, and the total comes to $75,000. Not bad for a complete unit ready to go with all the extras – just add saws and crew!
To download a PDF advert for the rig, please click here.
For more information please call Rob on 0417 295845, or email Joe Harris at joe.elsewhere@gmail.com
As many of you will already know, this year the ISA international tree climbing championships and conference are being held in Australia. Tied to this, World Arborcamp is going to be held in Samford, Queensland, and it’s going to be an event worth travelling to. There are already many interesting workshops organised, with several Victorians travelling up to take part in events and offer presentations.
Write it into your diary now!