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Walk a Mile
By Mike Neal, ISA President-Elect (2002-2003)
I have a challenge to make to our membership in 2002: Take the time to meet and know someone who works in a different field of arboriculture. It’s very easy to criticize someone from afar but much harder to take a day out of your schedule and walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
Our members are professionals who take great pride in the work they perform for trees; otherwise, they wouldn’t be a part of the largest tree organization in the world. One of the directives of our mission is to educate, but first we need to look within our own organization. By that I mean we need to support the members who follow proper tree care practices. This support can happen only when we have a thorough understanding of each other’s jobs. So, walk a mile.
ISA members include utility, municipal, commercial, consulting, and student arborists—all tied together by the researchers and educators who keep us on the straight and narrow path. This is our membership. This is the ISA—more than 14,000 strong.
As members of a professional association, we have the ability to influence through education. ISA isn’t a lobbying organization. We do, however, have two powerful weapons in our arsenal: communication and sound scientific research.
Now is the time to speak up and reach out to fellow arborists—members and nonmembers—throughout the world. We can make a difference by staying united in our goals and speaking as one voice. Let’s use our power of communication and research to change how people care for trees.
How can you make a difference? Just look around in your travels—you will find many opportunities to make a difference. For example, in utility line clearance programs, you can still find utilities not following proper pruning guidelines (unfortunately). Or open a phone book and look in the Yellow Pages under tree service. You will probably find commercial arborists advertising tree topping. Or walk through some city parks, and you will find trees stubbed or pruned improperly.
Now take pen in hand; write the utility company, the commercial arborist, or your city government and ask if you can spend some time discussing trees and the International Society of Arboriculture. By making the effort and showing concern, we can make a difference for trees. I’m not asking you to hug trees but to give them the ability to grow the way nature intended them to.
We are all part of the ISA team, which carries a certain amount of responsibility. We have an obligation to bring forth the biggest and best support network for arborists. We need to speak as one when fellow ISA arborists who follow proper tree care practices need our help to resolve conflicts arising as a result of misinformation about trees. Each one of us faces challenges throughout the year. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the ISA team behind you?
Also, be sure to take time to spend a day with an ISA arborist outside your field of expertise and walk a mile in his or her shoes.
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International Society of Arboriculture
