Women in Trees

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Tree climbing competitions and championships are held internationally and there are a growing number of competitions, competitors and spectators every year. The first competition I ever watched was nearly 20 years ago and there was only one female competitor. Of course she came top of her class! She was impressive, strong and fast, perhaps appearing even more so as she was brave enough to go solo when women entering tree climbing competitions were a rarity. If I knew her name, I would properly salute her true pioneering skills.This year 20 female competitors entered the ISA International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC) in San Antonio, Texas, compared to 44 male competitors. Things are certainly changing. Nowadays, women are more comfortable competing in what can still be considered a male-dominated industry, and women are also more accepted in that role than 20 years ago. Lisa: What are some of the challenges you faced in establishing yourself within the tree care industry? A Swedish arborist working in the UK and Sweden, Bo has an impressive career in arboriculture. She is a self-employed contractor (Boel Hammarstrand's Trädvård (Sweden) and Swallows Tree Surgery (UK)), an NPTC trainer and assessor, a regular international climbing competitor and head judge of the UK 3ATC climbing competitions. I would like to continue to work as I do now, providing advice to a small number of clients who I have come to know well over the years. I would also like to learn more about landscape history and incorporate this into my work if possible. Favourite tree?

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. The tension between trees and female disobedience is biblical. After succumbing to the snake’s suggestion and partaking of an apple from a tree, Eve gets some bad news: her body will bring her shame and pain. She is not meant to reach into trees or climb them; she should quietly remain on the ground and bear new life. Get down, history has said to the grown woman brazen enough to take even a brief arboreal leave from her earthly duties. Once a woman is off the ground, it may occur to her to keep on climbing. A man might find himself standing beneath her, subject to the sight of her womanly behind on a branch above his head. Lisa: What are some of the challenges you have faced in establishing your well-earned success as both a practitioner and a competition climber?

Emma Schaffert

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. Jo: My partner John Trenchard. He has really helped me to achieve my goals. Ultimately, competitive tree climbing is a sport, and like most sports you need someone to help you train and coach you. It really helps me to have someone to push me and try ideas out with. He also puts up with the amount of time this all takes, meaning we spend our free time climbing, and eating late during the weeks leading up to competitions as we'll be out until its dark. However, according to this study, the following figures show the total number of workers within trees and timber organisations but not necessarily employees working in trees and timber roles (e.g. the figures include administrators). Country I’m not saying we need to recruit more women regardless of abilities or suitability to particular roles.

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. The ARB Magazine (2014: 16) reports that 2014 conference delegates comprised 25% women, significantly up from 2013 (15%). 3Three women, all wearing long dresses or skirts, stand in a spindly tree (birch?). The branches don’t look strong enough to hold them. The light and the scattered leaves create the impression that they are part of the canopy. Two look like they are leaning into the branches, supported and easy; the other clings to a bigger branch with a half smile.