Women in Trees

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Bo: Being self-employed, my work is very shifting and goes from doing NPTC assessments solid for a few weeks to full-on climbing the next, or a mix between the two. It also involves doing surveys, working at trade shows, running workshops or training courses and setting up and judging the 3ATC competitions. Over the course of a quarter century, he amassed some 140 specimens of the genre, the anthropology of a secret tribe — strange, sweet, subversive photographs of anonymous women engaged in acts of arboreal daring, taken before color film became a commonplace and feminism a conscience.

Ian Keen, who employed me as a surveyor, was a very important mentor for me as well. He was always very generous with his time to discuss any aspects of our work, particularly while I was studying for my Professional Diploma, which I took in 1990. Q3- (1) How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at its end? What causes this change? Beech. There was a small woodland where I used to walk all the time as a teenager where there were many mature beech on either side of an old green lane and I used to go there to think. I love how their grey limbs appear almost human and the way their sinuous roots cling on to steep banks. When the foliage emerges, the soft fuzz on the leaf margins is so uplifting to see in diffused sunlight. When they germinate, the seed leaves are so fat and round and full of potential and so different from the parent plant that they always surprise me. What advice would you give women entering our industry or trying to progress within it?In my experience, some of the most successful and content people are multi-disciplined. That is, they have knowledge and experience of areas outside of arboriculture that can be used to complement their urban tree management role. This brings value to their roles as employees, employers and urban tree managers. It may be conservation, forestry, horticulture, landscape design, planning, geology, engineering, construction, physiotherapy or other complementary disciplines. Ans: The poet did not mention the departure of the forest from her house because it is a part of human nature to ignore the important matters of their life. We all know that trees are so important for our survival on earth. But still human beings are cutting them for making profits without even thinking of the aftermath. Bo: Embracing myself and not giving up, along with a lot of coffee! I also use Herbalife nutrition products which have given me a lot more energy.

The Forestry Commission, Forestry England and Forest Research are today calling for the general public to submit photos of modern day ‘Lumberjills’ – pictures of women working in the forestry sector – to create a People’s Picture in a first of its kind celebration of women in forestry. We’re pleased to announce that booking is now open and thanks to our sponsors Ego, Lantra and Pfanner we are able to make the inaugural Women in Arboriculture Group event FREE for all delegates. Sharon: My life has been, and continues to be, full of teachers, for which I am very grateful. However, the first person who really believed in me as an arb was Andy Summerly of Tree Life. His confidence in me changed my life. More recently, tree conservation is justified through ecosystem services. These services, however, are translated into a universal language through their monetisation; the maintenance and protection of the tree are justified only to the extent that they allow a direct or indirect "gain" for the human community. In an industry in which the technical knowledge necessary for the good management of trees is now available, it is now necessary to take an ethical step: to give dignity to the trees and to ensure compliance with and respect for them, regardless of their relationship with humans.By promoting stories like these, hopefully we can begin to break down misconceptions and inspire future generations of successful female arborists to take their first step into arboriculture. Contemporary performance artist Joan Jonas recently interpreted the Grimm fairy tale The Juniper Tree using red and white images of contorted faces to represent the story’s central character’s wish for a child as white as snow and as red as blood. A kimono hung from a wooden frame depicts the stepmother and tree. In the story the woman gorges on junipers and has a baby before dying. She is buried under the juniper tree and witnesses the violent murder of her child by his stepmother. The juniper tree is the embodiment of the dead mother and represents righteous redemption. In Merce Rodoreda’s Death in Spring dying citizens are buried alive in trees, their throats filled with cement. These disturbing connections between trees and people reflect what Sara Maitland describes as a ‘profound sense that violence, beauty, risk and joy are inextricably tangled together; and the roots lie in the forests.’ Trees contain a deep magic. Perhaps our women in trees knew this, felt it on an ancestral level, as they perched amongst the branches. Gender equality is a major issue around the globe and whether it's at the BBC or within Arboriculture there is much progress to be made. In terms of representation and participation arboriculture is heavily weighted towards men, with only 13% female Arboricultural Association members according the 2016 membership survey. As I flipped through ninety photographs of well-dressed German women posing in trees for men, the subtle differences in their gestures and expressions became increasingly potent and compelling. What did they shrug off and accept, and what did they question? Did the two women in floral dresses posing in a fallen tree’s large and twisted roots come into adulthood while Hitler was in power? One of them is smiling winsomely for whoever is behind the camera. But the other has turned her face away. Her gaze is solemn and fixed on something in the distance that remains beyond the frame.

Kirsty studied an NVQ Level 3 in Arboriculture and Forestry and now spends the majority of her days climbing or working on the ground as part of a team taking care of trees on behalf of South Tyneside Council. How do we provide support networks for young females who are unsure about entering a male-dominated profession or progressing within it? Katherine Mansfield also saw a potential malignancy in trees, describing them as mysterious forms that ‘might have claws instead of roots.’ This contrasts with Virginia Woolf’s description of Septimus Smith’s rapturous oneness with the trees in Regent’s Park: ‘…the leaves were alive; trees were alive. And the leaves being connected by millions of fibres with his own body, there on the seat…’ This Modernist implication of ourselves in the perceived object echoes much earlier representations of women and trees in mythology and folklore. Many of these stories contain a transformation, blurring the distinctions between gods, humans and trees.Jo: I would probably say finding time. To learn as much as I could I spent a couple of years doing a lot of travelling all over the world to as many competitions as I could get to. This meant a lot of cost both in money but also in time. At that time I had a very small tree care company which I basically had to put on hold when I was away. I was advised by my accountant to stop travelling as it was detrimental to the business. I was even asked 'Do you think it will be worth it?' I also have to find time outside of work to train before a competition. This is hard after a day climbing at work and also takes up most of your weekends. But now I have a great balance. I have grown my business so this continues while I am away and I have learnt to balance my life between training and time off. Why even question it? Some female arborists have reported discrimination and harassment whilst others feel supported and enjoy their roles. Personally, I have experienced both significantly - but in many areas of life and around the world, not exclusively in UK arboriculture.