Penn State Extension recently offered its Tree Climbing School in Harrisburg, Pa., for the first time. Organizers said this expanded offering bolsters the workforce for an industry in need of employees.
The three-day training covered the fundamentals of tree maintenance and safe tree climbing and introduced participants to the possibility of employment in the tree-care industry and related fields.
The course’s instructor, Jim Savage, taught tree climbing school for 28 years and also teaches arboriculture in the department of plant science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
“The class is unique because there are no other introductory tree climbing classes in the country,” he said. “We’ve had people from the West Coast, Canada and as far south as Georgia come for it.”
Participants learned how to climb from the ground to the top of a tree, walk out on some limbs safely and come down. With a focus on the skills required to climb and prune trees, the course served as one step toward becoming a certified arborist. Along with three years of experience in tree work, certified arborists must pass the International Society of Arboriculture exam.
Certified arborists from the Harrisburg area, including an employee from Goods Tree Care, joined the course to assist with instruction and connect participants with potential job opportunities.
