Tree Biomechanics is the mechanical study of trees. Trees are structures and must obey physical laws just like buildings and bridges. A basic understanding of how physical laws apply to trees and arboricultural practice is critical to improving one’s arboricultural knowledge.

In this video Mick Tracy, Manager of Logical Tree Management talks about how the crew applied sound Biomechanic principals when removing this large Elm tree in Canterbury.

Read more about our upcoming Seminar…

Fri 23 March 2012, Melbourne

What is Tree Biomechanics? And why should I care?

Tree Biomechanics is the mechanical study of trees. Trees are structures and must obey physical laws just like buildings and bridges. A basic understanding of how physical laws apply to trees and arboricultural practice is critical to improving one’s arboricultural knowledge.

This one-day workshop will review basic physical principles like force, movement, stress, and strain, to see how they apply to cabling, climbing, pruning, rigging, and tree risk assessment.

Dr. Kane has conducted research projects in all of these areas and will present his data to highlight practical considerations for working arborists.

testimonial…

…we had the pleasure of hosting Prof Brian Kane in Singapore in 2011. He spoke at our annual Arboriculture Seminar and also conducted a one-day standalone seminar… What is Tree Biomechanics?.. His workshop was very well received, with lots of practitioners giving a thumbs up …for making a not so easy topic easily understood. He is a fantastic speaker…

Kay, Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecologogy, Singapore

Fri 23 March 2011
Jika International
551 Heidelberg Rd
Fairfield Victoria

Tree Logic’s recent July seminars, held in Melbourne and Sydney, gave delegates the opportunity to hear world experts in the field of porous pavements technology share insights into design, functional applications and maintenance of various porous pavement systems.
Professor Bruce Ferguson, from the University of Georgia, has a background in landscape architecture and spoke about the benefits of porous pavements in our landscapes, the different types in use and the importance of incorporating this technology into urban landscapes.
Professor Simon Beecham hails from the University of South Australia and is Head of Civil Engineering and Director of the SA Water Centre for Water Management and Reuse (CWMR).  Simon spoke about the advantages of incorporating porous pavements into Water Sensitive Urban Design initiatives.  He believes that porous pavements provide more sustainable management of our water resources with an enormous potential to harvest rainwater off the abundance of hard surfaces in our cities.
Dr. Brian Shackel has researched and taught pavement engineering at the University of New South Wales for decades.  Brian continues to work with pavement organisations in the functional aspects of porous pavements.  Brian’s insights into maintenance and clogging issues have dispelled some of the main concerns over using this technology.
The use and acceptance of porous pavements is growing in our cities. The use of porous pavements as a ‘Green infrastructure’ can aid in the reintroducing of environmental systems into urban landscapes.
We recognise that the use of porous pavements for horticultural systems is only a small component of the applications for porous pavements but we are interested, however, in the continuing notion of reintroducing natural systems into urban landscapes.  This includes creating growing conditions conducive for plant growth, particularly in regard to increasing conflict with hard surfaces and dwindling space in urban areas.
As we move towards more sustainable cities, porous pavements provide a functional, cost-competitive construction element that can provide enormous benefits to people, flora, fauna and landscapes.  The use of porous pavements should be considered integral to contemporary urban design.

Trees and development – The roots to best practice.
Hosted by Tree Logic
Leonda By The Yarra
Garden Room
2 Wallen Road, Hawthorn
Book online now

One of the most important tree management topics for 2010!
• Arborists
• Architects
• Builders
• Engineers
• Land Managers
• Landscape Architects
• Contractors
• Planners
• Building Surveyors

For anyone involved ?with the management of urban trees or those making decisions pertaining to the urban tree canopy.

OVERVIEW

Trees improve the quality of urban life and contribute to a sense of community.  Aesthetically pleasing, they add a softness to the urban core, provide continuity in areas undergoing dynamic change and visually connect and define the character of entire neighbourhoods.

Urban trees provide vital environmental benefits. They clean the air, sequester carbon dioxide, provide catchment for rain water, moderate temperature extremes and provide shade reducing exposure and heat loading.

Trees also enhance property values. Studies show that the retention of trees on private property can increase home values by more than 20 percent.

These aesthetic, environmental and economic considerations reflect a critical need to retain trees in the urban environment.

With the first Australian Standard AS 4970-2009 – ‘Protection of Trees on Development Sites’ now available, building developers and arborists now have an agreed framework for the preservation and protection of trees during all stages of a development project.  This represents an important step forward in promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly building practices.

Trees and development: The roots to best practice seminar will deliver up-to-date, practical and effective information on the roles that trees play in the development process. Core to the proceedings are implications and applications of the new Australian Standard AS 4970-2009 .

A copy of the Standard is available for purchase online from SAI Global.

PRESENTERS

David Evans is the Principal Consultant of The Arbor Centre (UK) and is a fellow of the Arboricultural Association of Britain. He
regularly provides CPD seminars to allied professionals and has presented papers to peers at arboricultural conferences and
seminars in the UK, USA, Canada, The Netherlands, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

David Galwey is the Manager and Principal Consulting Arborist at Tree Dimensions. He works extensively with councils, developers, architects and town planners and lectures occasionally at The University of Melbourne. He was nominated as the ISAAC representative to the Standards Australia Arboriculture Committee and has been involved in ongoing development and review of several standards needed by the arboricultural profession, including AS 4970 ‘Protection of Trees on Development Sites’.

Glenn Waters is a Director with Tree Logic. Glenn has twenty-six years in the arboriculture industry with both private and local government. He spent five years as a City Arborist with the City of Prahran (Stonnington) and now consults with many of the major organisations including Royal Melbourne Zoo, Royal Melbourne Golf Club, numerous Victorian Councils and Shires and as a Landscape Assessment Officer for the ?City of Glen Eira.

Book online now

Tree Logic is planning to bring Bruce Ferguson leading world expert on porous paving, to Australia during May/June this year. The series of seminars will address the use of porous pavements as well as issues of incorporating vegetation into urban water management systems.  Local experts, including case studies, will compliment the international knowledge provided by Dr. Ferguson.

“Pavements are the most ubiquitous structures built by man. They occupy twice the area of buildings. Two-thirds of all the rain that falls on potentially impervious surfaces in urban watersheds is falling on pavement,” says Bruce Ferguson, professor and director of the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia in Athens.

“Porous pavements are one tool that can be incorporated into the development of water sensitive cities and urban water management” says Stephen Frank from Tree Logic. “That’s why we want to explore these opportunities with world experts” he said.

Dr. Bruce Ferguson’s ‘Porous Pavements’ is the product of eight years of research and is the first comprehensive review of porous pavement technology and applications. If used properly, porous pavements can facilitate biodegradation of the oils from vehicles, help rainwater infiltrate soil, decrease urban heating, replenish groundwater, allow tree roots access to air and water, and reduce total runoff, including the magnitude and frequency of flash flooding.

Who should attend?

If you are involved in civil engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning, or horticultural management, then you should pencil this event into your 2010 diaries and calendars.
Subscribe to Tree Logic‘s newsletter to stay up-to-date with the development of this seminar series.

Tree Logic’s seminar, Arboriculture, presented by Nelda Matheny and James Clark was a great success. Both speakers have command of their topics and can inform and entertain at the same time.
For many of the delegates it was an opportunity to revisit some fundamental arboricultural skills as well as network amongst a good crowd of 165.  The field assessment workshop, in particular gave opportunity for interaction amongst the group.
Nelda’s talk on water issues in California carried particular pertinence for the listeners considering our dwindling water supplies and requirements to find alternative sources.  The sessions on tree risk management did create some healthy debate and highlighted some areas of the evaluation and rating of hazard trees in urban areas that could undergo review.
The venue, ‘Leonda By The Yarra’ and the food also complimented the day.  On the whole the majority of delegates walked out having had a positive experience.

“Tree Hazard”  Risk Evaluation and Treatment System delivered by Nelda Matheny at the 2009 Seminar. Click here to download the pdf

Matheny & Clark Seminar
Thursday 26th November 2009
at “Leonda By The Yarra” 2 Wallen Rd Hawthorn

Guest speakers at Tree Logic’s next seminar on November 26 are the principals of HortScience Inc, Nelda Matheny and James Clark. These international leaders in arboriculture and urban forestry have a strong technical background and an ongoing commitment to the professional development of our industry. They have authored over 80 publications that are widely used by arborists and horticulturists throughout the world.

Nelda and Jim will present on a range of arboricultural topics, including

• tree preservation on construction sites;
• issues of water management;
• current aspects of tree risk assessments;
• directions in urban forest sustainability;
• includes an interactive, in-field tree assessment exercise that will help develop practical skills.

The day will be thought provoking and entertaining and a great opportunity to enhance your arboricultural understanding with the aid of two very knowledgeable arborists.

$385.00 (inc gst) each)
Click here to book online now or
PHONE Lee Carr at Tree Logic 1300 656 926

Click here to download the flyer as pdf

Tree Logic’s next seminar will be looking at the necessity to re-introduce nature into our urban lives. The seminar will aim to provide a holistic perspective looking at
sociological, psychological and economic perspectives of our urban forests.
Topics will also cover issues regarding the development and implementation of urban forest management.
Speakers
Kathleen Wolf is a research faculty member of the Centre for Urban Horticulture at the University of
Washington.
Kathleen investigates perceptions and experiences related to landscapes and the influence natural environments have on peoples’ behaviours, attitudes and values. Having worked as an urban horticulturist and a landscape architect, she has been able to combine her past experience in her present work having special interest in the relationships between ecology and business districts. Her research of the human dimensions of open space, urban forestry and natural systems include:

1. Public preferences and perceptions regarding urban public landscapes
2. Costs, benefits and perceptions of urban forestry in retail and commercial districts
3. Integration of urban nature and transportation systems
4. Developmental benefits associated with youth participation in urban greening work
5. Effective integration of science and policy through technology transfer

Thomas B. Randrup, Landscape Architect (1990), PhD
(1996).
2003 – present. Professor in Park Management and Urban Greening at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (since 2007, University of Copenhagen). 1996 – present. Researcher, senior consultant and senior
researcher at the Danish Forest and Landscape Research Institute.
Since 1996 Thomas B. Randrup has researched and developed projects in relation to planning and management of urban green spaces, with special emphasis on urban trees. His research is currently primarily focused on strategic management (planning and maintenance) of urban green spaces which involves the development of policies, organisation and planning methods, as well as maintenance strategies in relation to green spaces.
Thomas B. Randrup is author/ co-author on more than 250 publications and he has held more than 130 presentations both nationally and internationally.

Click here to download the pdf

1. Introduction to Sustainable Systems
2. Kim Sorvig Sustainability, Complexity, & Beauty
3. Dr Jason Grabosky Root Pavement
4. Peter May Soil Tree Perform
5. Dr Peter Breen WSUD Street Trees
6. Lyndal Plant Brisbane Sustain Urban Tree
7. Dr Jason Grabosky Struture Soil Deep Root
8. David Balsamo Efficient Water Trees
9. Kim Sorvig Permenant Pavement
10. Dr Jason Grabosky Design Parking Lots

14th-18th April 2008

Sustainable landscapes involve both technical and ethical choices (Thompson & Sorvig, 2000). What we hope to convey in our seminar ‘Sustainable systems for urban trees’ is information that could allow more informed approaches to introducing the principles of sustainability into our landscapes. Trees form the major soft landscape component in our landscapes. There is enormous benefit in us being able to create systems that allow trees in urban landscapes to flourish and be long-lived that meet design outcomes and do not have negative impacts on the environment. We need to start to think how we can advance the cause of sustainability in our landscapes. The seminar presentations should allow connections between disciplines towards the development of a common, mutually beneficial cause.

Reference:Thompson, J. W., & Sorvig, K. (2000) Sustainable landscape construction. Island Press

Venues & dates:

• Monday, 14th April 2008. Royal Queensland Golf Club, Brisbane
• Wednesday 16th April 2008. Macquarie Graduate School of Management. 99 Talavera Road, Macquarie Park NSW 2113
• Friday, 18th April 2008. Yarra Yarra Golf Club Warrigal Road, Bentleigh East. Victoria

Speakers

Dr. Jason Grabosky is currently at Rutgets University in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. His current research projects include urban forest stocking criteria for New Jersey and modelling decay on oaks after reduction pruning using medical imaging software. He also collaborates on designed soils for trees and pavement; is looking at wind loading, transplanting and pruning response in landscape trees; and developing a modulus of root reaction in pavement layer design.

Kim Sorvig is a Research Associate Professor at the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, University of New Mexico. Masters of Landscape Architecture, Univ. Pennsylvania, under chairmanship of the noted environmental designer and author Ian McHarg. He has been Contributing Editor at the American Society of Landscape Architects, Landscape Architecture. Since the release of his second book, “Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors”, Kim has been invited widely to lecture on topics related to sustainable design and its interpretive and educational aspects.

Dr. Peter Breen is a principal of EDAW. He has extensive experience in water resources management and the impact of land-use change on aquatic ecosystems. He has published on aquatic botany, wetland, stream and lake ecology, stormwater and wastewater treatment, water quality management and restoration ecology. Peter’s expertise has contributed to urban stream ecology, best practice stormwater management objectives, guidelines on constructed wetland and waterway design and bioretention systems.

Dr. Peter May principal of May Horticulture Services, taught at the Burnley Campus of The University of Melbourne for 30 years, developing expertise in soil science, urban soils and urban and landscape horticulture. Peter provides specialist advice in a range of areas including urban and landscape soils, landscape plant establishment, landscape plant selection and the management and maintenance of landscape plants, primarily to local government and landscape architecture firms.

To view the order of proceedings click on the thumbnail below

Online seminar registrations here.