Hiring an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist

ISA Certification comes from the International Society of Arboriculture. Before an arborist can sit for the exam, they must qualify through a minimum of three years on-the-job experience in tree work, a 4 year education in a related field or a combination of education and experience.

Candidates must pass a 200 question exam on tree biology, diagnosis, pruning, safety, and more. In order to remain Certified, the Arborist must obtain 30 CEUs, through continuing education, every three years. ISA Certification comes with a code of ethics and adhereance to industry standards: ANSI A300 for pruning and ANSI Z133 for crew safety.

Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA) is currently the highest level of certification an Arborist can achieve. There are less than 1,500 BCMA's worldwide!

In order to become a BCMA, an ISA Certified Arborist in good standing must meet further experience requirements, garnering a total of 8 "points." With 8 points given for a PhD and 6 for a Masters Degree in a related field. These points may include a combination of Education, work experience, and years Certified with 1 point given for every year and 1 point for every 6 years of work experience - I have been a Certified Arborist for 6 years and have worked in the tree industry for 12 years. I did not receive a degree in a related field, however I did attend College and the majority of my coursework was in the applied sciences. From Fire Science to Biology and Business Administration - I fell into tree work by chance and have stayed with it since.

I will say this - the credential isn't everything.

Some Certified Arborists know the book but don't have the time on spikes, running the ropes or skills with a chainsaw, on the ground and in the tree, to do this work safely.

As a formally trained climbing Arborist and a Part 61 trained Pilot (my first Solo flight was in a Cessna 140 tail-dragger) I know that training and experience work together to produce competence. There is nothing more dangerous than an over-confident, under-competent arborist - not to mention pilot!

In aviation, we say there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but not both!

Arboriculture is a lot like flying a tailwheel airplane. Barry Landy said "Flying is the artful application of a scientific process." Tree care done well is no different.

I'm grateful for my trade and I'm grateful for the life it's given me. It's work you can take seriously, get good at, and build a future with.

You can check any arborist's credential, mine included, with ISA's free "Verify a Credential" tool at TreesAreGood.org. If you're in Greenbrier or anywhere around Robertson County and have a tree you want looked at, call me at (615) 853-2808.