26
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
|
May/June 2021
PERSEVERANCE
EXPERTISE
DIGM HOSTED IN-PERSON AT DAVEY INSTITUTE
In March, nine employees from Commercial Landscape
Services (CLS) attended the Davey Institute of Grounds
Management (DIGM). The sessions were held at the
Davey Institute.
Over the course of four days, students learned about CLS
equipment safety, mowing and edging procedures, water
management techniques, and landscape weed control and
pesticide usage. They also learned the science behind their
work, including topics such as cool season turfgrass and
DIGM 2021 attendees included Frank Broski, Kevin Denis,
William Gandarilla, Anthony Griglio, Derek Howe and Max Westover.
CLEARING THE PATH FOR A HOUSE
A crew from the San Francisco R/C office escorted a 75-foot-long,
1880s era Victorian style house through seven city blocks in
downtown San Francisco by moving from tree to tree pruning
branches for clearance while the house inched its way through
the streets on a hydraulic semi-trailer.
The Davey crew quickly found a pattern of work. The bucket truck
crew would set up, prune necessary branches, push the debris to
the curb and move on. A chipper crew, which trailed behind the
house, gathered the branches and cleaned the area.
"After the first tree was pruned, we got into a rhythm," said Stephen
Howard, assistant district manager, San Francisco office. "But
safety was the biggest challenge. There were so many onlookers,
moving crews, and other people in the roadway and sidewalks
taking photos. Thankfully, the police helped control the crowd for us.
Logistically, there were ornamental parts of the house that wanted
to unexpectedly catch on some upper branches, so a couple of trees
were pruned back farther than we had planned."
In the end, the day-of work focused on successfully adapting to
safety concerns and the fast-paced workflow.
The San Francisco office crew involved with the pruning work
included Alfonso Arroyo, Stephen Howard, Michael Hyatt,
Aaron Miller, Carlos Reyes, and Jose Rodriguez.
ornamental/perennial grasses identification, seasonal color
identification, plant physiology, tree and shrub planting, and
common diseases and insects and how to manage them.
Attendees came from the following territories: Cincinnati,
Cleveland East, Cleveland West, Columbus, Detroit North
and Detroit Southwest.