There are many different branches of the arborist industry nowadays including urban forestry, care, maintenance and consulting.
An arborist is mainly involved with the study of trees. Actually, they are also more specifically known as arboriculturists. They promote the healthy growth of trees, remove vegetation and performing necessary tree care by doing tree pruning.
One of the main branches that they are involved in is consulting. Consulting generally does not involve much hands-on work with trees but more so evaluating and analysing them. The arborist would inspect the tree for any signs of disease or insect infestation. They may have to take samples from the tree to send it off to a lab where they can get an accurate analysis of whether there are indeed any diseases or pests attacking the tree.
If there are, then the arborist can develop a plan for treatment and maintenance and produce a detailed report. Not many consulting arborists are involved with treatment though. Treatment is more hands-on work with trees involving administering various liquids and powders to them. The treatments can involve fertilizing, insect/fungus control, etc.Urban forestry is another popular branch within the industry. This involves maintaining parks and public spaces. They may plant new trees or even remove ones that pose any risk to people or property around them (trees that are dying for example). Arborists working in this particular field complete tasks such as measuring mature tree heights and trunk circumferences through traditional means or using laser technology if available. They also record the tree species and other relevant information about the trees.
There are many different branches of arboriculture so there are generally always jobs available for those who want to work in this field. The following lists some popular jobs an arborist might perform.
Professional arborists and certified arborists should know how to trim trees, prune trees, assess trees, soil erosion and have a thorough knowledge about the industry standards, specialised vehicles and government agencies as well.
In urban landscape settings they plan where to plant trees based on demographics/needs that community has expressed as well as what is suitable for the area (climate conditions that will support them).
Tends and takes care of indoor and outdoor plants including trees and shrubs.
Generally works with an urban forestry agency or tree care companies, very physically demanding job involving climbing trees often to heights of more than 100 feet for the purpose of treating them or taking measurements.
Many arborists will use many different tools in the course of their work. Some are listed below.
Ladders are used to reach upper parts of trees.
Pruners to trim trees.
Brush saws for cleaning out debris around base or roots of trees.
Chainsaws for cutting up fallen logs and large sections of dead wood from trees.
Bucket trucks – a bucket truck is a vehicle with a platform on it similar to a cherry picker that works as a mobile work station for an arborist.
In addition to those tools, there are other things that might be helpful in the arborists work from time to time. Some of these include:
Bucket trucks. A bucket truck is a vehicle with a platform on it similar to a cherry picker that works as a mobile work station for an arborist.
Safety harness. This is used to secure a worker when they have to go out onto limbs or into hard to reach areas where falling could result in serious injury/death.
Ropes and pulleys. These are used for hoisting items up high, e.g., large logs.
Tags. Identifying markers usually attached by zip tie around branches so workers know what was done throughout seasons or years.
A second option would be to attend a technical or trade school that has courses related to arboriculture. These schools can vary from location to location so students would have to check the offerings at the one closest to them and see what they offer and if it's something they'd like.
Although arborists may sometimes climb trees, they don't need to in order to do their job. The majority of the work an arborist does is done with them standing on the ground; however, there are times when a tree climber's expertise is needed. There are situations where a more hands-on approach of climbing up into a tree and dealing with any problems right at the source would be necessary. An example would be removing dead or broken branches from around power lines so that an electric company doesn't have to shut down electricity for thousands of people just because one branch has fallen near/on top of lines. In these cases, crews get called out specifically to remove these types of branches from around high voltage lines. When an arborist is dealing with taller trees, it's hard for them to get high enough in order to fully evaluate the tree. In cases like this, they may need to climb up into the tree in order to get a better view of where there might be pest problems or any other issues. The arborist would inspect the tree for any signs of disease or insect infestation. They may have to take samples from the tree to send it off to a lab where they can get an accurate analysis of whether there are indeed any diseases/pests attacking the tree. If there are, then arborists can develop a plan for the treatment of the tree. Generally, not many consulting arborists are involved with treatment though. Treatment is more hands-on work with trees involving administering various liquids and powders to them. The treatments can involve fertilizing, insect/fungus control, etc.