Texas TreEmail - October Update
2019 Texas Tree Conference
Thanks everybody!  

This year's Texas Tree Conference, Academy, Trade Show and Tree Schools was a big success with over 1,100 attendees, a sold-out Trade Show, educational and inspirational speakers from around the world, awards, the silent auction for scholarships and networking with your peers. 

Thanks to Jason Alfaro your Conference Chair and all the many volunteers, sponsors and exhibitors. The Conference and the Texas Chapter ISA would not work without them.

Mark your calendars for next year's 40th Texas Tree Conference on September 23-25, 2020 in Waco.

See you there!

Get Your Tree News
The latest ISAT In the Shade is out!

Read up on this year's International Conference in Knoxville, connecting kids and trees, trichoderma and hypoxylon canker, structural pruning, and more!


Spanish/English Tree Workshop
For tree workers
Nov. 22, 2019 in Fort Worth

This  bilingual workshop will get in-depth into the intricacies of structural pruning. The morning will begin with indoor presentations in both Spanish and English on tree biology, reasons for pruning, and how-to structural prune.

In the afternoon, participants will be split into small groups to discuss and prune Live Oak trees on the property. Participants will be able to make pruning decisions and discuss their reasoning with the group. "Hands-on" pruning will allow the participants to put their knowledge to work in the field and allow them to retain the information more effectively.  By attending this workshop, your employees will be better able to make good pruning decisions and effectively communicate this knowledge to your clients.

Texas Arborist of the Year
Mark Duff is the winner!

Mark was instrumental in delivering the TFS Texas Cooperative Oak Wilt Suppression Project while stationed in Kerrville, Texas. Mark did an excellent job of informing affected owners of the biology and management of oak wilt, a destructive tree disease affecting both urban and rural landscapes.
                
Mark is fluent in Spanish and among his greatest contributions during his 26-year career with the Texas A&M Forest Service was his willingness to share his knowledge of trees and arboriculture with Hispanics, not only in the San Antonio area, but internationally. He was the Chair of the ISA Hispanic Committee for ten years. He has trained countless tree workers over the years in both Spanish and English and is a frequent organizer and speaker at bilingual tree workshops including the San Antonio Arborists Association annual Bilingual Tree Workshop and the annual Texas Tree School at the Texas Tree Conference. His friendly personality and sense of humor are put to good use for making friends and getting his tree-oriented messages across.

Even though Mark recently has retired after a long and productive career with the Texas A&M Forest Service, he plans to continue his arboricultural contributions as a private consultant and as a volunteer with the Texas Chapter ISA. 

Congratulations also go out to Micah Pace and Kelly Eby, the 2019 ISAT Volunteer of the Year Award winners.

2019 Texas State Arbor Day
'Healthy Trees, Healthy Lives'
Nov. 1, 2019 in Plano

When is your city holding its Arbor Day this year? The Texas State Arbor Day will be hosted this year by Plano - a 30 year Tree City USA community. This year and t he celebration will feature a ceremony, educational activities and free tree adoptions. Events are free and open to the public.

This theme highlights the connection between community trees, forests and human health. As research is becoming available, findings reinforce what much of the forestry community already knows - that trees and forests have a positive impact on human health.
On Arbor Day, we are emphasizing the importance of conserving and managing our urban tree canopy specifically to positively affect human health and create happier, healthier communities.

Arborists Needed for Planting
Hurricane Harvey RETREET
Aransas County - Nov. 16, 2019
 

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast with sustained winds of 130mph. Leaving behind $125 billion in damage and 104 casualties in the US alone, Hurricane Harvey is tied with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone on record. 

RETREET will lead volunteers in planting up to 150 large, native trees for families at home sites on Saturday, November 16th. These 15-gallon trees will serve as powerful symbols of hope, reestablishing the environmental identity of Aransas County and providing shade for residents and habitat for birds and other wildlife. Rockport RETREET, the second event held by RETREET in the area, will be a major green infrastructure investment that will leave a legacy for generations to come. 
 
RETREET needs arborists to join volunteer groups to ensure the trees are being planting the right way. If you would like to volunteer for the event, or would like to read more, click HERE. There are two registration options:
 
1) RETREETer-join volunteers traveling to Aransas County from across the country in a series of weekend activities (November 15th-17th).
 
2) PLANTING VOLUNTEER-join only for the planting and afterparty (November 16th).
 
If you are unable to attend Rockport RETREET but would like to donate to RETREET's future events along the Texas Coast or in North Texas in the wake of the recent tornadoes, you can do so on their website, www.retreet.org, or by clicking HERE.

Monsters Hiding in Your Business
Just in time for Halloween 

This Halloween, before the candy starts flowing, take time to eradicate the monsters who may be hiding in your company's closet.  In your search for small business revenue-suckers, keep an eye out for the these five ghouls and goblins.

Click here for the monsters 
Drones Combat Tree Disease
Fungus wiping our Hawaii's sacred trees

In early September, a drone flew over the Waiakea Forest Reserve on Hawaii's Big Island. It slowed its pace, lowered itself to a hover just feet from the canopy, and readied a device attached to its undercarriage. Two plastic "arms" rotated gently, grabbed a small branch, and, using a built-in saw, chopped it off. Having collected the sample, the drone flew away. This could be the future of arboriculture and forestry.  

Do You Know Your Crew?
Save time, save money, be safe

If one of your employees acted dizzy, shaky, and confused, would you just assume they maybe had a few too many the night before?  Would you tell them to work it off?

But what if you knew this same employee was diabetic, and the "few too many the night before" were actually symptoms of low blood sugar. You would be more concerned? You would take the appropriate action?

Want to be prepared in the face of a potential medical crisis? Of course you do.

Wound Dressings From Trees
Birch trees can help humans

We all know wound dressings don't heal tree wounds but tree wound dressings may help us heal. A bandage made from bark could transform the treatment of wounds. The soft dressing contains tiny fibers extracted from birch trees grown in Finland which are strong enough to provide a 'scaffold' on to which healthy new skin cells can grow.

They are also super-absorbent so can mop up moisture from a wound that might otherwise allow bacteria to grow, leading to an infection.

Called FibDex, the tree-based bandage is the first of its kind to be approved for use in the UK. Research shows just one plaster is enough to help difficult wounds heal, whereas most dressings have to be changed every few days. The wood fibers also produced less scarring and greater skin elasticity - a sign of better healing - than some conventional dressings.

EAB Costs Nebraska Nearly One Billion $
Emerald ash borer is spreading

Nebraskans will need to spend nearly $1 billion over the next few decades to remove ash trees killed by an invasive pest, but local governments probably won't be able to afford the cost and it's not clear how much help they'll get from the state.

The emerald ash borer has also killed trees in neighboring Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. The insects are native to Asia and kill ash by feeding on inner bark and blocking trees' ability to obtain water and nutrients. The insects were first spotted in the U.S. in 2002, when they showed up in the Detroit area. Infected trees typically die within five years.

Nebraska communities will end up spending an estimated $270 million to remove, dispose and replant all of the public ash trees killed by the disease, said Nebraska State Forester John Erixson. Replacing trees on private land will cost homeowners an additional $686 million, bringing the total expense to nearly $1 billion.

TreeTop Barbie Starts a Trend
National Geographic gets in on the act

Nalini Nadkarni is a tree canopy scientist who came up with the idea of  TreeTop Barbie, a canopy researcher version of the popular Barbie doll that could be marketed to young girls.

She thrifted old Barbies; commissioned a tailor to make the clothes for TreeTop Barbie; and she created a TreeTop Barbie field guide to canopy plants. Nadkarni sold the dolls at cost and brought TreeTop Barbie to conferences and lectures.

Mattel, initially reluctant, has since taken to the idea.


(Keep your eye on the ISAT TreEmail for the Women's Tree Climbing Workshop offered this Spring)
2019 Calendar of Events


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