Arboriculture Applied Management

Lesson Structure: Diploma in Applied Management (Arboriculture) VBS001

This course is comprised of 7 modules plus 200 hours workplace project:

Core studies – Four modules (400 hours) of compulsory subjects for all students.

Elective studies – Three stream modules for the development of knowledge in arboriculture

Project – a workplace project of 200 hrs relevant to your field of study. The project specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study. Contact the academy for more information.

Core Modules:

Business Operations VBS106

• Introduction
• Finance
• Financial Records
• Financial Management
• Business Planning
• Mistakes to Avoid

Management VBS105

• Introduction to Organisational Structures
• Theories and Procedures of Management
• Problem Solving and Making Decisions
• Management Styles and External Influences
• Employing People and Interview Skills
• Staff Management
• Ethics and Equity

Marketing Foundations VBS109

• Marketing and the Business
• Scope of Marketing Understanding basic economics (eg. supply & demand)
• Target Marketing
• The Marketing Mix and Managing the Marketing Effort
• Product Presentation and Packaging
• Promotion Communication skills
• Product Pricing and Distribution Pricing
• Customer Service Methods of assessing customer satisfaction
• Market Research
• Organisations

Office Practices VBS102

• The Modern Office
• Communication System
• Writing Letters and Other Documents
• Computer Applications
• Office Organisation and Procedures
• Health & Safety in the Office

Stream Modules

Studied after the core modules, stream modules cover more specific or niche subjects. All 3 stream modules to be completed:

Arboriculture I BHT106

• Introduction to Arboriculture
• Tree Biology
• Soils In Relation to Trees
• Diagnosing Tree Problems
• Tree Surgery
• Pruning of Trees
• Arboriculture Equipment
• Workplace Health & Safety

Arboriculture II BHT208

• Planting Techniques
• Controlling Plant Problems
• Strengthening Weak Trees
• Controlling Damage Caused by Plants
• Tree Felling and Stump Removal
• Tolerant Plant Species
• Establishing a Tree Plantation

Trees For Rehabilitation BHT205

• Approaches to Land Rehabilitation
• Ecology of Soils and Plant Health
• Introduction to Seed Propagation Techniques
• Propagation and Nursery Stock
• Dealing with Chemical Problems
• Physical Plant Effects on Degraded Sites
• Plant Establishment Programs
• Hostile Environments
• Rehabilitating Degraded Sites
• Plant Establishment Care

Please see lesson titles for your learning goals.

Practicals:   What you will learn

•     Learn to distinguish between plants in order to identify at least 50 trees.
•     Develop a standard tree report form, customised for surveying the condition and use of trees in your locality.
•     Explain how to different soil related problems that can effect trees.
•     Develop a twelve month program, for managing a health problem detected by you in an established tree.
•     Demonstrate bridge grafting across a bark wound.
•     Distinguish between different methods of pruning including: Canopy reduction, Cleaning out, Topiary, Espaliering
•     Determine the minimum equipment required to commence business as a tree surgeon.
•     Compare different chainsaws, to determine appropriate applications for each.
•     Determine legislation which is relevant to a specific arborist in a workplace which you visit.
•     Explain how to plant a specified advanced-sized tree on a specific site.
•     Explain tree injection, including the technique and applications.
•     Identify situations where trees require strengthening operations to be carried out.
•     Compare different ways to control roots which invade underground pipes.
•     Calculate the cost of removing a specified tree.
•     Determine five appropriate tree species suited to a specific site visited and analysed.
•     Devise a method for removing a tree, including tree felling and stump removal.
•     Analyse three specimens of mature trees, from each of five different genera,
•     to detect any patterns in problems occurring in those trees.
•     Develop criteria for the establishment of a tree plantation on a specific site which
•     addresses; site restrictions, cost and function.
•     Compare different approaches to land rehabilitation, to determine strengths and
•     weaknesses of alternative options on a site to be rehabilitated.
•     Determine techniques to maximise plant development in land rehabilitation situations.
•     Explain the different ways of producing seedling trees for land rehabilitation purposes.
•     Determine appropriate plant establishment programs.
•     Develop procedures to care for plants, during establishment in an hostile environment.
•     Manage the rehabilitation of degraded soil.
•     Explain the effect of plants on improving a degraded site, both physically and chemically.
•     Determine ways to better manage staff, administration and finance within an aboricultural enterprise
•     Determine improvements for the marketing of an arboricultural enterprise

The quality of this course is second to none, from the in-depth learning you will get to the expert individual mentoring you will receive throughout your studies. The mentors for this course are:

Susan Stephenson
BSc in Applied Plant Biology (Botany) Univ. London 1983.
City and guilds: Garden Centre Management, Management and Interior Decor (1984)
Management qualifications in training with retail store. Diploma in Hort level 2 (RHS General) Distinction. 

Steven Whitaker

Opportunities for a career with Trees
Arborists; tradesmen and professionals are employed to work in:

•     parks departments,
•     forestry,
•     municipal parks and gardens,
•     commercial and private gardens
•     street trees,
•     plant nurseries, etc.

Career Pathways

•     Qualifications are important but, so are knowledge and experience. Don’t dismiss their importance
•     It is a mistake to assume that apprenticeships alone will guarantee long term career success
•     Volunteering,  a great way to get started
•     starting as an “assistants” in a plant nursery or garden, is an excellent way to learn more about trees
•     Some start with a course like this or anyone of our general horticultural courses
•     If you have some experience caring for trees, some knowledge about identifying plants, and are familiar with horticultural science;
  you will be able to compete for job opportunities when they arise. The secret is to be in the right place
  at the right time.  Important to get noticed; and that requires persistence and networking.
•     People who learn and have solid knowledge and skills, are the people who advance through the ranks,
  getting promoted to eventually become a manager, consultant or business owner.