race mt. tree 4th annual career day!
Tuesday, April 30th, 2019.
The students were given samples to identify & learned some of the ways we ID tree & shrub diseases.
Kristina used the acronym S.A.F.E.R which was coined by an urban forester named Midlos ‘Mik’ Lestyan to help communicate the Benefits of Trees.
Social:
Trees made people feel better by improving human mental health & well-being.
Aesthetic
Tree are beautiful & are admired year-round for their various characteristic such as leaves, bark, flowers, fruit & branching structure.
Functional
Trees provide oxygen, shade, food, absorb storm water runoff & sequester carbon.
Economical
Properly planted trees improve values, help save on energy bills by cooling homes & blocking winds.
Recreational
Outdoor activities such as hiking, hunting, birdwatching & canopy ziplines are among trees.
On Tuesday, April 30th, 2019, Race Mt. opened its doors for the four consecutive year to local high school students from Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington & Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield, CT. Annually, we host an interactive career day for local high school students to demonstrate the importance of Arborists & the tree care industry. We host a variety of industry professionals in various fields of expertise that the kids hear from and an array of interactive demos taught by the Race Mt. team.
This year, our speaker was Kristina Bezanson. Kristina is a lecturer in Arboriculture & Urban Forestry at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. Kristina is an ISA board certified arborist who is “committed to connecting people with plants” and has served as President of the Virginia Urban Forest Council. Kristina spoke with the kids about the importance of trees & the benefits they provide us everyday.
Kieran Yaple demonstrates limb walking with the students.
Demo Stations:
KIERAN YAPLE—demonstrated a tie-in limb walk.
MARCO BENITEZ—demonstrated throw line and helped the students tie their own rope into the tree.
NATHAN REDMAN—helped the students get into a saddle & climb a Hemlock.
MATTHEW WRIGHT—helped the students hit a target with a rigging demonstration.
MICHAEL SCHMIDT—helped the students perform a trunk injection on a White Ash.
Kristina Bezanson of Umass Amherst spoke about the importance of trees in our every day lives & brought samples for the students to ID.
Ron Yaple spoke about his career in forestry that developed into a Arboriculture business in 1984.
Michael Schmidt is Race Mt. Tree’s plant health care manager. He demonstrated for the students how we inject an Ash tree to treat for Emerald Ash Borer.
Many thanks to our industry sponsors who always provide goodies for the “shwag raffle”. Many lucky students went home with prizes.
Donations made by: Arborwear, Shelter Tree, Paul Smith College & Race Mt. Tree Services.
All photo credit goes to our wonderful team photographer Amy Inglis of Avida Love Photography! Many thanks for the great moments you capture!