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Davey Bulletin Nov-Dec 2019

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24 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | November/December 2019 A 'GIANT' VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY It's not every day you can say you climbed a 250-foot tree. But Mike Walters, lead foreman, North Minneapolis R/C office, can say he's done so several times now. During a week in August, Walters joined 15 volunteers from around the world in retrieving research and climbing gear left in 50 of the Giant Forest sequoias in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The quest started when Walters met Anthony Ambrose, a plant ecologist from the University of California at Berkeley, during the annual Rochester Arborist Workshop. Ambrose has spent the past four years studying how droughts affect the sequoias. Working with volunteer climbers over the years, the researchers left pieces of rigging in place to more easily ascend the massive trees each year. After the research concluded, some of the gear remained in the trees. To retrieve it, the volunteers camped near LEADERSHIP Yosemite National Park and hiked 45 minutes to the base of the trees. At roughly 6,000 feet above sea level, the climbers took it slow going up. And up they went, almost 12,000 total vertical feet over the course of four days. "It leaves you speechless. And breathless. When you're that high up in such a massive living thing – the smallest branches up there are the size of the biggest trees you work on anywhere else – you really start to appreciate every detail around you," Walters said. Having grown up in California, Walters had dreamed of climbing in the sequoias. He started working for Davey's Western Utility services before moving to R/C in Chicago and then Minneapolis. Davey's high safety standards helped him land the sequoia volunteer gig, as each climber had to be approved by the National Park System in order to ensure a safe climb for both the climbers and the trees. About the Research Ambrose's research has shown that the Giant Forest sequoias, which use 500-800 gallons of water each day during summer months, are showing significant amounts of dieback in their foliage due to several years of drought. Using ground monitoring and crown measurements, Ambrose and his team are designing a vulnerability map of the trees to prioritize which trees need the most help. Left: One of the giant sequoias in the Giant Forest where volunteers retrieved rigging. Above: Mike Walters, center, with UC Berkeley researchers Anthony Ambrose, left, and Wendy Baxter, right, at the base of a giant sequoia.

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