out on a limb
march issue 2017
A monthly newsletter for the Treescape Community
Human Interference Helps Brisbane Figs
Treescape recently commenced a project for the Brisbane City Council to find a
way to accelerate aerial root growth in large fig trees. This is to ensure that the
aerial roots connect to the ground and become a structural platform for the large
trees in Brisbane without having to install expensive man made props or supports.
The aerial root feeder station research is a very exciting project to be involved with
as we are using man’s positive interference with the trees to accentuate what
Mother Nature has already designed, but helping nature to work quicker.
The issues facing large fig trees around the world is that the human influences and
effects of development are interfering with the way trees are having to support
themselves and unfortunately in most times the trees cannot react quick enough to
these changes and they have limb or total tree failure.
Our team has been developing aerial feeder stations around several trees in
Brisbane to accelerate the rate of root growth to ensure that the roots reach the
ground quickly. This is done by setting up two sections of PVC pipes:
• Base footings of large PVC pipes secured into the ground with star pickets;
and
• A second layer is a series of half metre PVC pipes that can be opened
and roots inspected / checked and monitored. The second section of
inspection tubes are removed as the roots build in volume. This is to
ensure that the roots don’t girdle themselves and the main portion of
exposed roots continually search for moist soils.
Both sections are back filled with a special planting media which Treescape has
extensively trialled and this is obtaining exceptional growth rates.
In the three months this trial has been going we have measured average growth
rates of 2.5 metres. This is compared to growth rate of the control untreated aerial
roots of .85 metres. At present rate of growth we are anticipating that all the PVC
feeder tube system will be removed in two months time as the majority will be in the
ground. Updates will follow. A special thanks to my team Troy Shepherd for design
and installation and Gavin Williamson for the PHC and monitoring.
Written By: Daniel Oaten, Senior Arborist, Brisbane
Training Pays Off
On Wednesday 15th February Jamie Wetton and John Coughlin stopped
at the scene of a serious head on collision. As all Treescape staff are trained First Aiders, the pair rendered
First Aid and then CPR on a seriously injured person until an ambulance arrived to take over.
The guys had observed a person tying to do CPR incorrectly, so they volunteered to take over until the paramedics arrived.
Great effort guys, and well done.
From Jason Durbidge - Quality, Environment, Safety and Training Manager, Brisbane
NEW ZEALAND: www.treescape.co.nz
AUSTRALIA: www.treescape.net.au
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Great Communication Acknowledged on Shared Site
Treescape received some glowing feedback from Shane Strode-Penny who is a Manukau WorkSafe Inspector, after his
recent visit to a Flatbush worksite. On this site, Treescapes CA division were working with Hicks Bros.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, businesses working together and with overlapping duties must, so far as is
reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with other businesses so they can all meet their joint
responsibilities to manage the risks associated with their activities.
Shane said the engagement and level of communication between the two businesses working on this site - and in
particular CA worker Kevin Amstad, is by far the best he has seen in his various site visits. On this job Treescape and
Hicks demonstrated that they were communicating and consulting with each other to manage the risks associated with
their activities.
He was very impressed with the communication between the PCBU’s working together on this site and in particular our
worker Kevin Amstad. Hicks worked with Treescape to make an access track and the communication and management of
risk by Kevin he thought was really impressive. Shane was also impressed with the documentation that Kevin had
completed which included the daily hazard management form.
Really great to hear positive feedback from WorkSafe about Kevin who has been with Treescape for about five months
now, and that he is putting safety first in his work.
Written By: Therese Carroll, Health, Safety and Environmental Manager, GO
Standing Out in the Crowd
Two changes have happened recently to some Treescape vehicles which
is sure to make the Treescape brand ‘pop’ on the streets of Australia.
The first change is to the training vehicle with photos added as window
tints. The idea came about after seeing a number of companies using less
words and more photos and graphics in their sign writing.
I went through our Australian library and forwarded a number of these to
our sign writer for him to design the new graphics. The photos chosen
show a variety of services we offer, and that we are capable of training in
these activities.
The van travels between all of our depots from MacKay to Sydney, and
already we’ve have had quite a few positive comments back from both
clients and public.
The second change is the addition of our new smart car fleet which is to
be used for our Sydney/Marrickville contracts. The smart car will be used
by various staff members for scoping and auditing. The move to these
very small vehicles made sense, as parking spots for our current larger
Hilux utes are hard to find.
Written By: Peter Tate, Business Manager, Australia
NEW ZEALAND: www.treescape.co.nz
AUSTRALIA: www.treescape.net.au
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Safety and Quality Awards
Safety Award Winners for the Wellington/WN Office:
Hapi Awa was awarded the $200 voucher for the month of February in
Wellngton. Why did he receive it? because he is a good bugger (as
described by the crews). Hapi is the foreman of an AT37G MEWP working
on the Wellington Electricity Lines contract. He takes a leading role with site
management and also when attending fault work after hours, which there has
recently been plenty of with Wellington stuck in winter.
The $200 vouchers for January went to Phill Warin (L) and
Andy Saunders (R). Andy was nominated by his Project
Manager and Foreman for his safe work practices, trimming
trees near the power lines and his progression through his
Utility Arborist Training. Phil was nominated for his safe
work practices and communication when tackling difficult
tree work near the power lines and excellent customer
feedback after a recent job.
Nomination from Kevin Birdsall, Business Manager, Wellington/WN
Safety Award Winner for the Warkworth Office:
Chris Walsh, Sam Bottema and new recruit Ryan Richmond were awarded the safety award for this
month for their response to a recent incident.
The guys responded to a call out first thing Monday morning
after the stormy weather on the weekend and the resident
couldn't praise them enough; she made them cake and coffee
and spoilt them! She said they couldn't leave until it was all
eaten!
“Hi Dean, Thank you SO much for sending out your
arborists. They've done an excellent job and now the
wind has sprung up I have peace of mind!! God Bless you,
yr family & yr team.“ Julie Lubbe
They have been selected for this month's safety award as
Chris and Ryan spent all their Saturday attending faults
in the region and then still responded in a polite and
helpful manner on Monday to help out this elderly client.
Nomination from Dean Lang, Project Manager, Warkworth
Did You Know?
Animals that lay eggs don’t have belly buttons.
On average, a cow produces 40 glasses of milk a day.
Male monkeys go bald in the same way that men do.
Sheep will not drink from running water.
NEW ZEALAND: www.treescape.co.nz
AUSTRALIA: www.treescape.net.au
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Big Thumbs Up
Treescape Kumeu recently donated some log rounds and oak slabs to Swanson Primary School so they could use it for furniture
in an outdoor class. Below are pictures of the project unfolding – left to right: teaching the process to the students in the outdoor
classroom; the first stages of the classroom plans; and, its all hands on as students make their plans a reality.
“This morning as I took my husband to the doctor, the Treescape truck had blocked the way. They shifted it for me. When
we returned the tree was gone and I just want to say thank you and your Warkworth Team, the Treescape people, and
Karen Gosselman as well.
And although someone assured us that the tree still had integrity, I am relieved, given the speed of the traffic on this part of
Sandspit Road, that it has been removed and will not cause any mischief or harm to anyone.
I apologise for beeping the horn (not loudly) at the Treescape truck, but the situation with my husband was a bit on the dire
side. Again many thanks to you and the other individuals that removed said tree.”
Comments from Penny and Ray Barrott speaking about the removal of a tree on Sandspit Road, Warkworth. The crew on
the day were Chris Walsh and Sam Bottema in Truck 299.
On a recent trip to Brisbane our CEO Ed Chignell hit the road to visit some of the teams in the field. He was very happy with the
standard of work being undertaken, in particular he was left speechless by the efficiency of the planting crew of Nathaniel
Caneris and Troy Shepherd (pictured). In the time it took to park the car and walk over to the staff (who had also just arrived on
site) they had setup site, planted and watered the tree and were packing up again. Well done guys.
Comments supplied by Rob Napier, BCC Contract Manager, Brisbane
All in a Day's Work
“Thought you might be interested in this; we were surprised by this little guy
having a rest at my office door the other day, I'm not sure what type of snake
it was but brown is normally bad so we stayed pretty clear, until James Oliver
(pictured), Garry Best and me managed to wrangle him with a rake and
relocate him to a more suitable area.”
All in a day's work for Clive Lattimore, Operations Manager, Mackay
NEW ZEALAND: www.treescape.co.nz
AUSTRALIA: www.treescape.net.au
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EcoPortal Makes
Real-Time Auditing
Easy
CEO Ed Chignell visited the Wellington
branch during February to conduct on site
auditing and review of compliance through
the ecoPortal system. After the office
based audits were completed Ed and
myself visited a site at Ohariu Valley Road,
or out "in the sticks" as Ed put it.
The crew, Phil Warin and Andy Saunders,
were removing hangers from a very large
Macrocarpa overhanging a driveway.
Whilst on site we conducted an audit live
into the ecoPortal system using an iPhone,
(only just had coverage) and ran through
safety checks with the crew. All in all it was
a good day, and good to see the CEO in
the field interested in how the crews are
operating.
Pictured: Ed and Phil Warin inspecting an
MEWP harness at Ohariu Valley,
Wellington, and below, WN crews at work.
Written By: Kevin Birdsall, Business
Manager, Wellington/WN
Better to Bee Safe than Sorry!
We have been doing work on the NICE 4 Project, for joint venture
Fulton Hogan/ John Holland since last October. The project is for the
upgrade of fibre optic cables in the rail corridor from Te Awamutu South.
Got a call from Lourens du Preez and Chris Littlewood who were clearing
the fence line at Te Kawa, to allow a drilling operator to get in and do his
thing. They had found a bee's nest in the area where they were clearing
and so had to stop their work.
After sending a bee keeper out we discovered the nest was a paper wasp nest, not
bees, and so he was unable to help. Next solution to the problem was to borrow some
bee suits from him to complete the job. Pictured are the guys kitted out in their bee
keeping gear.
Better to bee safe than bee sorry!
Written By: Jaco du Preez, Project Manager, Waikato/HM
NEW ZEALAND: www.treescape.co.nz
AUSTRALIA: www.treescape.net.au
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Northland line clearance tree trimming.
Snapped
Photo credit: Lawrence Schicker, HM
Shepherd's Warning indeed:
Sunrise before the weather
bomb hit on the 12th March,
where parts of Auckland and
Northland saw one month's
rain in one day!
Photo credit: Ed Chignell
Due to some wild weather CA and PV
moved their Aerial Rescue competency
assessments inside at the Otahuhu Depot.
Photo credit: Ed Chignell
New Excavator Now Hard At Work
Wellington depot has recently acquired a new Komatsu PC55 excavator
to replace the existing old PC50 workhouse with 6,000+ hours on the
clock. The new build came with new upgrades and compliance with
forestry specifications.
Fleet Manager Dion Wright spent hours toiling over the risk assessment
and implementation of managing a never before completed project, being
a fully protected forestry cab on a five ton excavator for tree work.
The cab is certified and involves the use of Margard which is a protective
Lexan product commonly used on forestry machines for side intrusion
and operator protection.
The PC55 is fleet number 926 and is now hard at work within the Lower
North Island. You may see it travelling around on its newly appointed
transporter truck, all painted in the Treescape livery.
Written By: Kevin Birdsall, Business Manager, Wellington/WN
We want to hear from you: Do you have a story idea for the next edition? Get your story in
the next issue of Safety First by emailing copy and photos to [email protected]. The
Safety First newsletter is distributed to Treescape staff and valued clients. If you are not on the
mailing list, simply request your regular copy by contacting [email protected].
Join our online community by following Treescape on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can find us at TreescapeNZ (f ), TreescapeLtd (IN), and treescape-limited (LI).
NEW ZEALAND: www.treescape.co.nz
AUSTRALIA: www.treescape.net.au
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