Lizi Rose
Arborist
Hey Lizi, how was your day at work today?
Windy!
How long have you been working as an arborist?
I started tree work in Tassie in early 2017, doing odd jobs dragging branches for a friend’s arborist dad. I also had my first go at spuring. Late that year I met my partner James. He had already been in the industry for 10 years at that stage. We bonded over an interest in outdoors stuff and went on tree climbing dates. After 6 months of dating, he bought me my first tree climbing harness for my birthday …Those things are expensive!
You knew it was serious then!
He was like, if you are serious about getting into this then you need your own gear. And he’s a bit of a gear-head so that was super helpful when doing my own research. I started out on prusiks for climbing, and I haven’t yet switched to any kind of mechanical device.
"So long as you take care of your body, the job should not require more of you than you can handle. You should always feel comfortable to say “This is my limit” - People will listen. Everyone starts somewhere, and makes their mistakes. "
We started out on prusiks in rope access as well. And the story of prusik is so amazing isn’t it? Where did you hear it first?
I’m not sure where I heard it first or even if I heard the full story. Do you wanna refresh on it?
Sure. So Prusik was this guy who was an Austrian mountaineer (1930’s) who encountered some unforeseen issue while climbing/rappelling. He saved himself by pulling the shoelace out of his boot and hitched it around his rope to climb his way back to safety.
Yeah! So he’s kind of like MacGyver! The first time I saw a prusik was at school doing a unit on rock climbing. And I did a lot of abseiling. So the technique of climbing and controlled descent are things that I had a background in from school years. And from the age of 12 I was learning how to sail and there were knots in that context too…and splicing ropes.
But the high school that I went to pushed university as a choice for job security…it seemed like VET courses and trades were for 17 year old blokes to blow a loan on their first ute and then write it off!
I knew about the world of arb as a teenager, but it wasn’t on my radar as a job when I was a girl…a teenager, or even into my twenties. But then at close to thirty, I realised that I really wanna do this. I had some really great teachers at Tafe that helped me step across from animal studies, to conservation land management, to arb. The issue lay around how to get a job…There was no work for me in Tasmania. I sent emails and made calls. I let them know that I already had experience, but it was hard to break through. I didn’t get a single response.
At the time I was still working in wildlife management and working down the coast at a Tasmanian Devil park – They are one of my favourite animals. My work boots still have Tassie devil teeth scuff marks on them! I miss working with animals but it’s kind of similar now because I am working outdoors.
"There has always been work dealing with trees around power lines etc, but now we are seeing a lot more responsive and reactive work. Because those fires spread so fast, we are seeing arborists recruited in big groups. In fact everyone has been so busy after the fires, that we even had trouble finding a climbing teacher at tafe this year."
So you are living in Melbourne now. But that wasn’t part of your previous plan was it?
No. The move to Melbourne was essentially my only option for getting an apprenticeship and really it felt like it was the only way I would get taken seriously in the industry. I wanted to get qualified with a Cert 3, do an apprenticeship, to get on the job training, build the experience and get really good advice. In Tasmania I tried and tried but no joy.
Do you bump into possums often these days?
Definitely. There’s plenty of times that I have been going up in the tower (ewp) and as you go past a hollow, this little grumpy nose will poke out and look at us like “What are you doing around my tree!?” There was one tree that I worked on where there was a brushy living in a hollow further down and then up top where there had been some habitat pruning done, there was a little sugar glider, so two species living in the same tree! Because they are nocturnal, they are mostly hiding away when you are up there working in the day. But if you have already assessed the tree and you know there are residents there, then you can plan accordingly. Like this job we did recently, I gave the crew a hessian sack. They put the sack over the hollow while they were working. It stops the animal from getting stressed by the outside interference and running out and potentially causing itself an injury. And that’s what I want – to combine arb and native wildlife studies into my working career.
It seems like you have a huge amount of love for what you are doing. For both the animals and the trees. What’s your favourite part of the job at the mo?
From stump grinding, tree-planting, to watering, to pruning, complete tree removals and habitat preservation… I really enjoy being a part of the entire process.
Because I am in the apprenticeship phase at the moment, I am learning a little bit of everything. And particularly right now it’s pruning. You’ve gotta learn how to get that right because it affects the overall health of the tree down the track. So it’s really good when I’m out with a crew and we are doing whole street prunes, because although it’s repetitive work, it’s enjoyable. Each tree is a different puzzle to work out. Looking back at that tree and seeing that you got it to a state that looks really good, and that it’s going to last long term. And then when you look back down the street and you see everything uplifted, it just really makes a difference to the neighbourhood.
Do you feel like you are a kind of hairdresser?
Yeah! We are the hairdressers of the tree world!
So what kind of tickets and certificates do you have?
I previously completed a Cert 2 in conservation land management. During that I did a chainsaw ticket, white card and a chemical cert (used for pesticide or fungicide application). When I started my arb apprenticeship I did power line safety, traffic management, operation of elevated work platforms of any size, first aid, electrical safety, and I am sitting my truck licence next week! Having this combination of tickets makes you really employable.
What advice do you have for those who are attracted to this kind of work?
So long as you take care of your body, the job should not require more of you than you can handle. You should always feel comfortable to say “This is my limit” – People will listen. Everyone starts somewhere, and makes their mistakes.
And we know that when you are a fresh new apprentice, of any gender, it may be a while before you’re as strong as a seasoned tradie right?
Right. And you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone – There’s typical macho stuff that some guys wanna try and test you with, but you gotta back yourself with confidence, know your worth, speak up and stand your ground. My biggest fear was “am I going to be strong enough??” But people would reassure me and say “you will get fitter on the job the more you do”. So even if you don’t have much upper body strength, you have climbing and hauling devices to help you.
And also, after a period of time passes where you’ve been working hard, you discover you are absolutely ripped! So no need for the gym!
Exactly!
As we see more women join crews, it normalises the idea of us working onsite. You mentioned to me earlier that you have attended tree climbing competitions and you spoke very warmly about the people you met there. Would it be correct to say that it had a significant effect on a sense of your place within your industry?
People in the industry will say that people that go to climbing competitions are not the competitive ones. There’s no ego trips. They are just there for the love of climbing and the social aspect. And while the culture of our workplaces is getting there…it’s slow…but with competitions it’s just about encouraging one another. Knowledge is shared freely and we all learn a lot from each other technically. The first one I went to was in Hobart in 2018. There were only 3 women there. I wondered why there were only three women in the Nationals…But there are always a lot of spectators. And it’s a great way for the industry to broadcast themselves.
So Covid aside, when is the next one due?
The Victorian competition usually happens in November. The Victorian Tree Industry Organisation (VTIO) is where to get the info. There is a wonderful woman Rebecca Barnes who is a really great advocate for women in our industry. She gave me some great advice when I started out. She told me that she had been too hesitant to enter into the first couple of competitions that she attended. When she finally started competing she thought “Oh I wish I had just jumped straight in at the beginning, regardless of skill level”. And so when I turned up at my first comp. full of nerves, she was like “Just go for it, and that’s your personal best”. At that particular competition her role was taking any passers-by kids for a climb up the trees….
The VTIO also runs seminars and workshops and so on. One of the recent guest speakers that I found super interesting, was this guy who was talking about how he and a bunch of others were recruited to go out after the bushfires, to assess the risk of trees close to highways and so on.
That’s interesting because we have heard that land management as a job is now considered an essential service so things seem to have become quite busy for arborists?
Absolutely. There has always been work dealing with trees around power lines etc, but now we are seeing a lot more responsive and reactive work. Because those fires spread so fast, we are seeing arborists recruited in big groups. In fact everyone has been so busy after the fires, that we even had trouble finding a climbing teacher at tafe this year.
Pretty severe skills shortage eh?
Yep. And actually that’s what finally made it easier for me to get an arb apprenticeship – because it was on the skills shortage list.
Most women you meet who are working in a trade didn’t get there by accident right!?
Exactly. I have fought hard to get this apprenticeship. So many guys take it for granted, being able to do these jobs, whereas you talk to any of the women doing these jobs and they tell you how hard they had to push to get their job and how proud they are of getting to where they are. You’ve already got a bit of mettle just to be there in the worksite. You gotta speak up and muscle your way in when you want to try something – and I was so determined. I want this. I am not gonna have a second rate experience.
Our boss has 6 women working for him out of a crew of around 30. He appreciates us for our methods, process and attention to detail, our willingness to be versatile, the ability to just knuckle down to doing work and for adding a different perspective to the guys.
Thanks for letting us know about the Victorian Tree Industry Climbing Comp. I wonder what else you would suggest for people who are keen to get started on a similar path?
Yeah! That event in November is great if you are in Victoria and just wanna check it out. Look online for Australian climbing competitions and international climbing competitions as well. Also Red Bull sponsors extreme sports and stuff. They run a tree climbing competition called Branched Out – last year it was in Adelaide. And of course being Red Bull they broadcast everything on Youtube so even if you wanna just watch videos of people demonstrating stuff or talking about gear online you can. It’s the internet! There’s information on everything if you look for it.
Thanks Lizi 🙂
