Event information in Spanish HERE

Introduction to Arboriculture:

Tree Care Short Course

September 29-30, 2023

Location: 

Gwinnett Tech

5150 Sugarloaf Pkwy,

Building 100: Room 707

Lawrenceville, GA 30043

$50/person

registration includes light breakfast, lunch as well as a copy of the Spanish Climbers Companion & The ISA Arborists' Certification Study Guide, Spanish - Third Edition

Register HERE

Registration Deadline - September 26, 2023

Tree Care Short Course

(Cuidado de los Arboles – Curso corto)

Introduction to Arboriculture is designed to provide workers and practitioners with a moderate knowledge of how to care for urban trees. The course will assist those interested in pursuing a career and become Certified Tree Workers or to obtain the ISA Certified Arborist Certificate.  This course is of great value to those professional workers in the industry who want to learn much more about the proper care of urban trees.

This short course consists of lectures and practical instruction. Participants have the opportunity to learn real applications to complement the theoretical classes.

The instructor's goal is to facilitate learning. This begins with teaching basic concepts and progressing through these concepts to more complex subjects.

Between classes, participants are encouraged to study and assimilate the information given in the previous class.

Course Agenda

Day 1

Tree Biology

Tree – Soil Relation

Gearing up

Tree Worker Safety

Day 2

Pruning

Chainsaw Safety & PPE

Trees and Construction

Climbing and Working in Trees

About Our Speaker

Jorge Luis Rivera

Jorge was born in Nicaragua on a small coffee producing town called Jinotega – From an early age he was exposed to the natural environment with the then intact sub-tropical forest around the town. Everyday exploring and discovering new places in the tropical forest was a typical day. It was at around ten or eleven years he discovered how trees make a difference to our world. At that age he spent vacation time at the family farm, observing and learning about coffee and cows. Soon, he was intrigued by the tree climbers using manila ropes, machetes and handsaws. He asked permission from his father to learn how to climb trees and regulate shade for coffee production. From the window in his bedroom he was presented with the view of a large Guayabón tree (Terminalia oblonga) that became a challenge, and still is a climbing dream from childhood.

When choosing a career, the obvious direction was Agronomy – the great outdoors - and a university in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. He graduated in 1977. He arrived in the United States in 1986 and began learning about landscaping. It was in 1990 when he was introduced to bucket trucks and climbing equipment. The idea of caring for trees in an environment outside their natural habitat interested him. These trees which were within the Urban environment and removed from nature due to their placement in the managed urban landscape developed his interest to care for them and enhance trees possibility to improve the environment and so the quality of live for humans where they lived and worked. For this he knew they would need special care to be successful.

In 2000 he became the City Arborist for the city of Miami Springs and the same year he became ISA Certified Arborist. Once again, his passion for trees was reborn. In 2010, he became Atlanta’s Arboricultural Division Manager. Jorge was elected president of the Georgia Arborist Association in 2014 and 2015. His leadership was instrumental to substantially increase membership and to develop a strong educational program. In 2016, he became part of the City of Coral Gables Landscape Services staff. Jorge’s experience dealing with storm damage from Hurricanes, Andrew, Wilma, Katrina, and Irma, has become a critical component in his approach to manage and restore urban forest.