Climbing the BIG TREE!

The Arboriculture class climbed the 134' yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) today helped by Cumberland Valley Tree Service arborists and Mont Alto grads, Dave Poe and Jeremy Redding. All rope work - no bucket truck here! Nice Job!

Tree Care Industry Expo

Forest Technology students Jason Owings, Tosh Rung, Zach Dubbs, and Tyler Hoffman participated in Student Career Days at the Tree Care Industry Expo in Baltimore, MD on November 9. They spent the morning competing in the speed climb, work climb, throw bag, an equipment safety test and arboriculture written exam, against students from 17 other Universities, Technical Colleges, and High  Schools.  In the afternoon we went to the Trade Show to see equipment, technical tree care demonstrations, and to mingle with tree care employers.

Advanced Tree Climbing with Aaron Feather from Cumberland Valley Tree

On October 17 Aaron Feather visited our Arboriculture class to work on new knots and advanced climbing techniques. Here he is setting up as the sophomore class looks on. Later, Aaron raced Mr. Houghton in a foot-locking contest. Even with a handicap, Mr. H. looked pretty slow and Aaron looked really fast! I will be investing in the 'Raptor' for next time! Many thanks to Aaron and Cumberland Valley Tree.

New Sawmill for Mont Alto

The Forest Technology program at Penn State Mont Alto has acquired a Wood-Mizer portable sawmill. We don't yet have a home for it on campus. It is still at the dealer at Shade Gap. Recently, forest technician students visited the sawmill and got a chance to run it as seen here.

 

A new metal building will be built at Mont Alto. Following engineering and architectural planning the mill should be in place before the start of the Fall 2013 semester. Enjoy the video. 

Tree Tube Removal

P1120546, a photo by P_Linehan on Flickr.

Tree tubes are frequently used to protect seedlings from deer browsing. Many types of tubes should decompose after a few years when the tree grows out of the reach of the deer. In this case on the Michaux State Forest the tubes did not degrade, even after ten plus years, often causing severe damage to the tree. In this case where the tree grew right into the tube, there is a thick layer of moss, indicating that water was retained.

This past Friday, forest technology students from Mont Alto volunteered to help remove failed tubes on the Michaux State Forest. It's very labor intensive to remove what should have fallen away by itself.