ISAAC E-news #14 - March 2004
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ISAAC: promoting professional tree care
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* Remember to forward this to other tree care professionals or enthusiasts
that may find this useful. ISAAC's Internet policy prohibits spam so please
only distribute ISAAC E-news to those with a genuine interest.**
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Arboricultural Employment and Free Classifieds now online
... at the ISAAC Website. Use of the service is free to all arborists
and arboricultural employers.
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This edition's feature article - "President's Report
- Where We Are"
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Saving Moreton Bay
In a project endorsed by ISAAC, Archicentre in partnership with the Frankston
City Council, Devine Homes and the community is undertaking a major demonstration
project to protect a threatened 100 year old Moreton Bay Fig Tree at 138
Cranbourne Road, Frankston.
The project valued at $750,000 to $800,000 will be used to demonstrate
best practice in protecting significant trees on residential blocks.
Stay fully up to date with this exciting project at http://www.archicentre.com.au/media/9022004TreeHouseProject.htm
-------------- COMING EVENTS --------------
ISAAC Australian Arbor Camp
26-28 March. http://isaac.org.au/arborcamp
ISA Certified Arborist Exam
Perth 3 April. http://isaac.org.au/certification
Amenity Tree Health - Pests and Diseases Workshop
Friday 30 April. Presented by The Elms Pests & Diseases Task Force.
Download the registration form from the ISAAC Website http://isaac.org.au.
Tree Climbing Championship dates are available at http://isaac.org.au/tcc
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If you're not a member of the ISAAC E-news mailing list,
you can join it at http://isaac.org.au/news/news.htm. It's free and you
don't have to be a member of ISAAC.
** Remember to forward this to other tree care professionals that may
find this useful. ISAAC's Internet policy prohibits spam so please only
distribute ISAAC E-news to those with a genuine interest.**
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ISAAC 2004 Gold Sponsors
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Correction
In the recent ISAAC Australian Arbor Camp mail out the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE was incorrectly named Northern Metropolitan Institute of Technology. We apologise for the error and thank NMIT for their support of ISAAC and Arbor Camp.
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Mission Statement
ISAAC will promote professional practices in arboriculture, and foster awareness of the benefits of trees through research, technology and education.
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Goals
ISAAC will:
educate tree workers and tree managers;
educate the public about the benefits of the trees;
enhance our role as the national arboricultural body in Australia;
develop and institute arboricultural standards;
encourage and support arboricultural research; and
develop strong relationships with related and like-minded organisations.
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ISAAC Membership
Membership of ISAAC links you to the professional world of practicing
arborists and tree managers in Australia. As a member you get discounted
entry to ISAAC events as well as the locally produced newsletter 'The
Bark'. Full ISA Members also get the ISA's publications 'Journal of Arboriculture'
and 'Arborist News'. Membership supports the continued growth in professionalism
of arboriculture in Australia. Now is the time to join. If you already
are a member, now is the time to recruit someone else. You can download
a membership form right now - membership application.
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ISAAC Award of Merit for Service to Australian Arboriculture
An ‘Award of Merit for Service to Australian Arboriculture’ may be presented at an ISAAC National Conference. It is offered to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to arboriculture in Australia. The two previous winners have been Dr. Gregory Moore and Philip Kenyon. Nominations may be submitted for an award. A nomination form can be downloaded from the ‘Online Documents’ page in the ‘Members Area’ at the ISAAC Website.
Please note that nominators and seconders must be current members of ISAAC. Nominees need not be members of ISAAC.
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Subcommittees
Volunteers are required for the following ISAAC Subcommittees.
Show your commitment and have your say on these important programs.
Certification
Education/National Curriculum
Standards Australia
Contact ISAAC via the website or the National Administration Office.
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------------------ FEATURE ARTICLE --------------------
Where we are - ISAAC in 2004
I think it is fair to say that ISAAC has had a fairly rocky existence
so far. There have been long standing and repeated issues with membership,
Journal delivery and general running of the organisation. As a Director
it has been nearly impossible to know exactly where we were organisationally
or financially. In order to address these concerns the Board employed
a secretarial service in 2002 to run our administration. Unfortunately,
for a number of reasons, that relationship did not work out and we terminated
our contract with them in late 2003. We then engaged Peckham Bookkeeping
to run our administration.
To date this arrangement is working out well and I’m sure those of you who have dealt with Sue in the office will have been impressed by her efficiency. Unfortunately the new office arrangement means that Sue is only available on Wednesday and Friday, so I trust that you will understand these limitations when you contact the office. We hope to soon have a new 1300 phone number so members from anywhere in Australia can call the office for the cost of a local call.
The state of our finances has been an ongoing concern, with never a clear understanding of exactly where we stood. Thankfully our new treasurer, John Cobbett, has brought a wealth of business experience to the role. He has spent many hours reconciling and rearranging our accounts and we can now finally be confident that we know our true financial position. The most pleasing aspect of this is that we have a healthy bank balance and are financially secure. I would like to thank John for his tireless efforts in sorting out what was a terrible mess.
Also on a very positive note is the news that we now have a Director dedicated to Membership issues. David Galwey as taken on this challenging role and I am sure that you will start to see some changes from Dave’s efforts soon. David was also instrumental in setting up our Group Insurance Scheme. The Scheme is growing and delivering real benefits to some of our members. Well done Dave.
One new initiative already for 2004 was the joint-production of the Arboricultural Wall Planner with SASA and QAA which was mailed to all of our members. I’m sure you all have this high quality planner in a place of pride in your office. This was an excellent initiative delivered thanks to Merchandise Director Doug Sharp. This is just one new idea to deliver more value to members.
The Australianised ISA Certified Arborist program has also proven to be increasingly popular. From one exam in 2004 we already have had one in 2005 and there are at least two more to come this year. ISA Certification is an excellent opportunity to set yourself apart and say that you really know what you are doing. Congratulations to Certification Director Martin Norris, with able assistance from Clive Sorrell, in getting this program up and running.
The 2003 ISAAC National Conference and Australian Tree Climbing Championships were are fantastic success. The conference delivered both a worthwhile program and a healthy profit. All thanks go to Events Director Craig Hallam and our 2003 conference partner, the South Australian Society of Arboriculture. For 2004 ISAAC has teamed up with the National Arborists’ Association of Australia to run the conference in Parramatta from 4-6 November. This will be the best conference venue yet and another stimulating program will be in the offing.
One important decision from the recent Board meeting was the establishment of guidelines for Special Interest Subcommittees (SIS). These guidelines will allow us to form self-managing group under the ISAAC banner. The first SIS is the Women of the Trees group. A Victorian group is also likely to be formed very soon. There is also interest from Western Australia and Tasmania. These groups will help expand ISAAC as well as deliver events and programs for their respective special interest group. This is a very exciting initiative and I hope that many of you will get involved.
I am extremely confident 2004 will be another solid year for ISAAC. The Board is continuing to work hard to build on the foundations laid in 2003. We are aiming to continue to grow as a national organisation as well as further strengthen our relationships with State organisations. There are also some exciting events and programs on the horizon. Some of these are in the next edition of our newsletter, The Bark, others will follow through the year.
It is an exciting time to be a member of ISAAC.
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If you're looking for great information to pass on to your clients, check out the ISA's new website, Trees Are Good, dedicated to providing tree care information for the general public http://www.treesaregood.org/
For ISA members the ISA has also redesigned it's website and it is worth
a look.
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Do you have a question or comment? You can send your query online at our
Feedback page http://isaac.org.au/contact.htm
If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
on our website http://isaac.org.au/news/news.htm.
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Contents of this newsletter are provided for information only and the
International Society of Arboriculture Australia Chapter Ltd. takes no
responsibility for loss or damage resulting from its use. ISA, ISAAC and
associated logos are for use by members of the ISA and ISAAC only. ©
2004 ISAAC.