Davey Tree Flipbooks

16 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | March/April 2023 STUDENTS GAIN EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCES AT D.I.T.S. The annual flagship Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) training session held at the Davey Institute covered practical tree care and technical sciences. Forty-five students traveled in from all over North America to complete the one-month course. The trainees were selected by their managers to attend D.I.T.S. because of their demonstrated potential as the future leaders of Davey. Theo Waite, foreman, Victoria, British Columbia, Residential office, enjoyed the hands-on entomology identification, and walking through the tasks with real samples. While a broad understanding of the sciences is important to Waite, direct guidance for the physical aspects of the job is what he looks forward to sharing with his teammates. "I want to take the ability to train others with what I've learned, as well as bringing more official training sessions, to my shop. It's very easy to be inefficient when we climb, so climbing and rigging training is an immediate need for us," Waite said. The Factors and Forces material covered during D.I.T.S. inspired Zoe Jacobson, supervisor, Southern California Edison trimming account, to want to advocate for her teams to go Members of the Kent Fire Department joined D.I.T.S. students for their aerial rescue training. The fire personnel offered their thoughts and insights on what would be helpful to them if an emergency situation arises involving an arborist aloft in a tree. They also used their ladder truck to demonstrate how to complete an aerial rescue where the truck would be used rather than having to lower an individual to the ground. through the official Factors and Forces training. "It's a special, Davey-created training all about tree science and safety rolled into one. Giving our employees this training would be a gift to them," Jacobson said. Walter Sims, PHC technician, South Houston office, said the coverage of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was one of the most applicable takeaways from the training for him. "For example, you can spray an aphid off of a leaf with a hose, rather than using chemicals. Going over the rules of when and when not to use certain products is extremely useful for my day-to-day role," Sims said. Hearing how people with different personalities and ideas interact with clients, employees, and co-workers was beneficial for Rick Colosimo, operations manager, Southeast region, Commercial Landscape Services (CLS). "If you're used to doing things a certain way, you're not always open to new ideas. At D.I.T.S., it was nice to hear about different ways others keep things fresh and breathe some new life into the daily job," Colosimo said. LEADERSHIP Zoe Jacobson views a lab sample during the Davey Institute lab tour. The team in the Davey Institute lab looks out for pests on samples like the Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). HWAs are serious pests and can injure hemlock trees by sucking sap from needles and twigs. A serious infestation can cause tree death.

• Cover