Perth Voice Interactive

THE nation’s keenest treetop athletes will descend on Bayswater for the ArbWest State Tree Climbing Championship this week as part of ArbFest 2024. 

World number 2 climber Jack Lewis will compete, as well as Australian women’s national champion Alana Murray, who is ranked fourth in the world.

ArbWest vice president Kelvin Ussher said ArbFest was a “three-angle approach” to showcase the arboriculture industry, with the climbing competition running alongside an industry expo complete with machinery displays, and family-friendly activities such as an eight-metre climbing wall. 

Mr Ussher says community understanding of arboriculture is necessary to protecting Perth’s urban tree canopy, as the city’s capacity for canopy is very low. 

Mr Ussher says the education campaign is a “big push” to make sure the Perth public is onboard to boost the city’s tree retention and to minimise the environmental impacts of tree-lopping. 

“It’s all about returning trees to urban areas and increasing the canopy coverage throughout the city,” Mr Ussher said. 

Another facet of the education campaign is to educate Perth residents about the prevalence of uncertified and untrained tree-loppers in the metropolitan area, which is also a risk to the urban tree canopy.  

Mr Ussher says that untrained service providers are a threat because they will often tell clients to “unnecessarily” remove trees when there are often other solutions.  

“The quality of advice that you get from someone who has never studied arboriculture, compared to those who have, is considerably different,” Mr Ussher said. 

“You can’t provide education if you haven’t been taught it.”

Mr Ussher says the risks associated with using uncertified tree-lopping services can result in safety issues for both client and provider. 

“What we find is a large portion of them don’t follow the occupational health and safety regulations or WorkSafe guidelines,” he said. 

“If someone employs a contractor like that, not only are they getting potentially ill advice, but they are also putting themselves at risk.”

State and local governments have cracked down on these fraudsters in the last decade, but Mr Ussher says there is still a long way to go. 

“It has gotten a lot better,” he said, “however I would still say there is a probably fifty-fifty chance that the contractor is uncertified. 

“We’re really angling to tell the public to not just use Arbwest members but to use anyone that’s certified.”

Mr Ussher hopes the community-based theme of this year’s ArbFest will help draw people to find out more about the industry and to enjoy the “spectacular” skill of the climbing, which he says will be “adrenaline packed”. 

“Arboriculture is an untapped outdoor career,” he said. 

“ArbWest membership has grown 35 per cent in one year. We’re really starting to gain traction, which is excellent.”

ArbFest 2024 will be held this Sunday, March 16, at Claughton Reserve in Bayswater. The climbing competition will begin at 8am and will continue throughout the day. It is free entry to the competition and industry expo, and food and drinks will be available. For more information, visit the ArbWest website.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER