Bushfires – South Eastern Australia: An Arborist’s Perspective
Ben Kenyon
Homewood Consulting
Not everyone has experienced the kind of bushfire season that confronted many parts of Australia during the Spring & Summer of 2019/20 – nor would you necessarily wish to have that experience.
But if you are part of the arboricultural industry, your services may well be called upon as part of secondary response teams to help secure the safety of post-fire zones, to allow for mop-up teams and landholders to access routes to their properties as advised by the authorities.
The art of tree risk assessment and practical application of techniques, to salvage the health of trees or to render them safe or to remove hazardous specimens is never quite ‘business-as-usual’ in the aftermath of wildfire – for a whole host of reasons.
Ben has experienced a number of bushfire scenarios, including the 2007 Black Saturday fires in Victoria.
His wise advice as discussed in this video presentation is well worth viewing.
This presentation was recorded at the Victorian Tree Industry Organisation (VTIO) Workshop on the 10th February 2020, at the Chadstone Campus, Holmesglen TAFE, Victoria.