An Arborist Is A Trained and Highly Certified Professional
At some point in their lives, a homeowner will enlist the help of a trained arborist to help them troubleshoot problems related to landscaping and trees. It is not widely known that landscaping can add or detract significant value to your property, depending on the health of your vegetation, shrubs, and trees. Keeping your landscape and trees in tip-top shape will ensure that not only you will get enjoyment out of their health and beauty, but they will allow you to gain top dollar for your investment if and when you decide to sell.
Watching a trained arborist is a treat; they have intimate knowledge of trees and all issues related to their maintenance and health. We stand in awe of what they can diagnose and treat with just a few simple evaluations. How is an arborist trained, and what sort of education must they go through to help us keep our landscapes healthy and beautiful? Let’s take a look inside the training process, and perhaps we’ll develop even more mad respect for these highly trained professionals and what they do daily to keep our property looking beautiful.
What does an arborist do? Things to consider….
Have you yourself considered becoming an arborist? An arborist is a trained and highly certified professional who engages in all aspects of tree care, diagnosis, and treatment. He trims, prunes, and repairs trees to ensure optimal growth. He diagnoses and treats all sorts of diseases, infestations, and infections that can negatively impact your landscape, and he offers suggestions and plans that help to optimize healthy planting and growth patterns for the life of a tree. Just a few of the many tasks of an arborist include:
Pruning trees to optimize growth and minimize disease and infestation
Planting trees and planning landscape design
Cutting down dead or diseased trees and grinding stumps
Examining trees and evaluating their health and effectiveness
Maintaining trees, landscape, and other shrubbery to ensure optimal health
Operating heavy equipment and machinery needed for all aspects of tree care
Identifying potential hazards associated with tree care and making plans for safe removal away from power lines, structures, and other vegetation
Providing assistance with planting and growth for younger landscapes
Providing customer care and answering questions related to landscape design and financial aspects of maintenance
With all of the education and study needed to become an arborist, it is essential that you obtain the right certifications and degrees to do the work well.
Degree options as you consider a career as an arborist
Several professional companies offering the services of a trained arborist also provide apprenticeship and training programs. Ask the landscape company you wish to work for whether they have that type of training and on-the-job study available to you. In general, if your degree is related to the following programs, you’d be considered an excellent candidate for a position as an arborist:
Horticulture
Environmental sciences
Landscape design
Geoscience and agriculture
Anthropology
Natural sciences
Looking for an accredited program
An arborist who must work with industrial-grade pesticides and other chemicals needs to be fully licensed and certified to do so. In general, a fully accredited program will allow you to obtain the type of license/degree preferred by these institutions and obtaining the proper certification will be fairly simple. Your customers will also have confidence that you are in compliance with state and local laws, and that your work will be up to standards and expectations as dictated by the National Association of Arborists. Providing your customers with proof of licensure and compliance will establish trust and a willingness to establish an ongoing working relationship with you that might prove to be beneficial for all parties involved.
Obtaining licensure
Different states have different requirements when completing an arborist certification course. Clearing a small written examination, along with demonstration of proficiency requiring specific skills, will be necessary to obtain your certification. Test topics that require proficiency include:
Botanical diseases and management
Pesticide use and safety protocols
Plant identification
Applicable state and local jurisdiction
For those up-and-coming professionals who want to go the extra mile with their services and offerings, it is possible to obtain a certification from the International Society of Arborists, demonstrating your knowledge of national standards of tree care and opening up additional professional opportunities for you. Customers look for credentials and demonstrations of proven professionalism and standards of care when hiring an arborist; the more certifications and areas of specialization you can obtain, the more likely it is that you will gain a large following of satisfied clients. Keep up on your continuing education, commit to providing excellent customer care and service, and you’ll carve out a satisfying and successful career as a tree care professional.
Speaking of professionals…..
Whether you’re in the market for some tree care and maintenance, or you wish to obtain more information about certification and training necessary to become a professional arborist, we’ve got you covered. Fey And Sons, LLC, has been in the business of professional tree care and landscape management for decades, and we know what it takes to deliver quality service and maintain professionalism that gets us noticed. Contact us now for more details on how we might help you beautify your landscape and possibly enhance your career path. Visit https://www.sarasotatreeservice.com/ for more information.