12 | November/December 2014
exam will be offered in Taiwan."
Kincaid adds, "They made the trip very
easy and allowed me to focus on delivering the
message of professional arboriculture as seen
through the eyes of the ISA Certification
Board Chairman and a Davey employee; two
roles that I take very seriously and try to deliver
with a high degree of passion."
Throughout the trip, Kincaid traveled to
different universities and government centers
in Taipei, Taichung and Tainan to present four
different presentations. All the locations were
heavily populated areas where tree-related
issues are typically covered by the media.
"While the focus of the presentations was
about professionalism in arboriculture, I was
able to highlight many examples of work
performed at Davey," Kincaid says. "It provided
a great opportunity to place the Davey brand
W
hat does your local tree care professional
have in common with one in Taiwan?
Now, both professionals can benefit from
similar tree care industry resources to enhance
their careers.
Skip Kincaid, senior consulting urban
forester for Davey Resource Group, took
a trip to Taiwan to share his knowledge and
expertise about professional arboriculture
standards and credentials. He made the trip
on behalf of the International Society of
Arboriculture (ISA) and its response to a
request from the Taiwan government.
"There is a quickly growing surge for
knowledge about professional tree care in the
Pacific Rim, and international standards such
as those offered by ISA are in high demand,"
Kincaid explains. "Once translation to
Chinese is complete, the ISA certified arborist
Daan Park (pictured) in Taipei, Taiwan, serves
as an active green space within the busy,
congested city. The park is home to trees
such as camphor, cajuput, ficus and maple.
Talking Trees on an International Level
in front of a large and very receptive audience."
Kincaid was pleased with the turnout of
each of his presentations. Over 2,000 tree
care professionals attended in total. National,
regional and local elected officials, university
students and landscaping professionals were
all present in the audience to hear a global
perspective on arboriculture professionalism.
Kincaid explains that the vegetation in
Taiwan grows at a much faster rate than what
someone in the U.S. or Canada may be used
to. He says it was common to see trees that
would easily outgrow limited root space
along sidewalks.
"The environment is so rich and lush that
getting things to grow is not the issue," he says.
"City planners seemed more concerned about
trees getting too tall because they fear tree
failure during high winds from typhoons."
Kincaid (left) stands with guide
and interpreter Nelson Li (right) at
a commercial site in Taipei where a
large tree was recently transplanted.
Kincaid presents at one of four presentations
about professional arboriculture standards
and credentials in Taiwan.
