23
March/April 2021
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
D.I.T.S. TECHNICAL ESSENTIALS COURSE
With Dr. R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training,
at the helm, the Institute created a prerequisite course for
D.I.T.S. called "D.I.T.S. Technical Essentials" as part of the
Winter Season of Education and Training. The course
covered tree biology, tree identification, diagnosis of plant
disorders and included the Factors and Forces program for
tree risk assessment. The 25 students enrolled in the 2021
course will be considered first to attend D.I.T.S. in 2022.
"These preliminary courses were designed to help the
students be on an even footing with each other at D.I.T.S.
given the diversity of their professional backgrounds,"
Laverne said. "This will allow us to get a faster start out
of the gate at D.I.T.S. in 2022 and we will be able to cover
more topics in greater depth."
The students attended 90-minute sessions with an
instructor three days a week. These sessions were offered
twice a day and allowed the students to pick the session
that aligned the best with their schedules. One day was
reserved for the students to complete prerecorded courses
on the LMS. Another day was considered office hours,
so the students could ask questions and go over the
assignments from the previous week.
Laverne wanted the students taking the course to walk
away with a better understanding of the topics outlined
in the curriculum, but it goes deeper than that.
"More importantly, we want them to grow an appetite for
knowledge and show them that in this pursuit of knowledge,
we can make them more successful and more satisfied
with their jobs," Laverne said. "We want to get them fired
up for what is coming next year and excited to come to
Kent to participate in the full four weeks of D.I.T.S."
As part of the "Winter
Season of Education and
Training," in-person
sessions called
Commercial Landscape
Services (CLS) Winter
Training 2021 were held
in the Florida, Southeast
and Gulf CLS regions
(and in accordance with
all appropriate COVID-19
protocols). To attend
these training sessions,
candidates were required
to complete online
extension courses on
the Davey LMS. Pictured is
the session that was held
in Houston in February.
Technical advisors from the
Davey Institute facilitated a
total of 25 similar training
sessions, both virtually
and in-person, during the
winter training season for
employees across the U.S.
and Canada. Additional
training events are planned
throughout the spring for
operations in Canada, the
U.S. Front Range and the
West Coast.