The Perfect 5 day intensive course that will set the path to becoming a trained arboricultural operative.

Optional Assessment Fee: £260.00

Course Price inc. VAT: £800.00

Course Total Price inc. VAT: £1060.00

Level up your skills and knowledge in arboriculture and tree surgery. This five-day course brings together the key lessons from its predecessor course with this City & Guilds Level 2 Award in Felling and Processing Trees up to 380mm (formerly CS 32). Take and pass this course to earn Level 2 qualifications in forestry and arboriculture.

• Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross Cutting - Designed for beginner tree surgeons and fellers, this segment covers the basics of chainsaw care, maintenance and handling. Participants can expect hands-on instruction on how to operate a chainsaw plus strategies for tree felling and cross-cutting with minimal risk to the feller and equipment. 

• Felling and Processing Trees - The course covers the technical aspects of processing felled trees, particularly in estimating the direction and path of a cross-cut based on the tree’s weight, size, species and the weather conditions. Participants will learn to make cuts in the correct points and avoid inflicting harm on themselves, their equipment and the wood they’re processing.

About the Course

This qualification combines Chainsaw Maintenance, Cross Cutting and Felling and Processing Trees up to 380mm. The result being a more concentrated course allowing the successful operator to manage trees to a high standard from ground level.

Within the course you will learn the needed operator maintenance and how to cross cut as well as directionally fell and process trees on the forest floor.

The felling techniques taught will give you a greater understanding of dealing with problem trees and general felling considering tree size, weight, condition and species as well as taking into account and weather conditions, trees that are upright, trees that are weighted towards and that are weighted against a given felling direction.

A City & Guilds NPTC Level 3 Award in Felling and Processing Trees Over 380mm course is available, but a Level 2 Award in Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross Cutting Units 201/202 qualification is a prerequisite for the class.

This course is an alternative from DTE Academy. Instead of taking the prerequisite course separately, you can learn the most important details about chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting and how to apply them to tree processing in one course.

Course Participants

The course is ideal for individuals with a basic knowledge and experience in chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting. Besides contractual fellers, woodsmen and businesses that handle felled trees and stack timber can also benefit from this course.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will have a broader knowledge about the technicalities of tree felling and processing. The learning points from the modules on chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting are applied to wood processing.

Other practical takeaways include:

• Competence in felling medium trees safely and effectively

• Snedding and de-limbing felled trees

• Felling a hung-up tree

• Finding the correct locations 

• Mastery of risk assessment, both onsite and in workshops

• Mastery of emergency procedures especially when processing on the felling site

Rentals and PPEs

Participants to this course are not required to buy their own Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Protective gear and clothing are available at DTE Academy and can be rented  at an additional price of £40. If, however, you would like to bring your own here’s a list of what you will need;

• Chainsaw protective boots (complying with EN 20345)

• Chainsaw protective helmet (complying with EN 397)

• Ear defenders (complying with EN 352)

• Face Visor (complying with EN 1731/Safety Glasses EN 166)

• Chainsaw protective trousers (type C) (complying with EN 381-5)

• Chainsaw protective gloves (complying with EN 381-7)

• A first aid kit (to include large wound dressing)

General tools that are needed for the course that can also be provided at £25;

• Felling Leaver - A felling lever is a device that enables you to safely guide a falling tree away from people, property, roads and utilities. It is attached to the side of the tree and prevents it from falling in an undesirable direction.

• Felling wedges - The felling wedge, also known as the winter wedge, is placed into the back cut of a tree to prevent backward lean that could compromise landing the tree safely.

• Timber tongs - Timber tongs are an indispensable tool for lifting and moving logs. Without them, the job of removing sections of a felled tree would be several orders of magnitude more difficult. Timber tongs can also be attached to different types of heavy equipment.

• Tool belt - An arborist in the field will need a quality tool belt to carry their radio, gloves, eye protection, straps, ascenders, descenders, spurs, carabiners, pulleys and other essentials. It is not wise to scrimp on your tool belt.

Where This Course Can Take You

Working in the tree felling industry but want to take your career and skills up another level? Then this really is the course for you. Our tutors will help take you from having a basic level of knowledge and experience in felling and processing trees, to being a qualified tree felling professional.

First and foremost, your newfound qualifications and skills will make you a more valued colleague and employee – opening up a wider range of career prospects for you. You will be competent in a wide range of skills, as outlined in the learning outcomes. Felling trees, snedding and de-limbing, felling hung-up trees and handling risk assessments, to name a few.

With these skills and your level two qualification then comes the wider range of career prospects. As a beginner tree surgeon, we expect you'll be earning around the £15,000 to £22,000 mark each year. After this course, that could all change.

Indeed, specialist tree fellers and surgeons can start to earn closer to the £30,000 mark, before kicking on and earning more in slightly more senior and consultancy roles, if that is where you want to be.  

Above all, though, this course will give you a real sense of achievement. We make no secret of the fact that, spread across five days, this is an intense week of learning. However, this makes it all the more rewarding when you come out the other side.

What Does the Arboricultural Operative Do?

Arboriculture Operative describes highly trained individuals who work in the field of arboriculture. The responsibilities of the Arboricultural Operative are many and varied and typically include:

•  Conducting crown lifting* of trees while ensuring their own safety and health and that of members of the public.

• The removal of windblown trees from public spaces, domestic and commercial properties and woodland areas.

• The removal of medium to large-sized trees from domestic and commercial properties and open spaces and the extraction and grinding of the tree stump.

• Aerial dismantling of trees using appropriate equipment and best practices learned at DTE and elsewhere.

• Felling small trees from public and private spaces at ground level and disposing of the resulting material according to best practices.

*Crown lifting is the process of removing the lower branches of a tree in order to lift the height of the crown’s base. This is a common practice performed to increase the amount of clearance between the tree’s lowest branches and the ground. It may also be done to remove weight stress from an older or frail tree. Crown lifting is also commonly performed to ensure roadways are safe for lorries and other high-topped vehicles to pass.

About Our DTE Academy

The Down To Earth Trees Academy is run by people who have been in the tree and teaching industries for a long time. We are all fully qualified and are passionate about the work we do here.

Over the years we have been lucky enough to train hundreds of tree fellers and surgeons. Most of which have gone on to have hugely successful and rewarding careers in this industry, thanks to the learning they have had from us.

We always try and focus on providing a holistic, well-rounded learning environment. This means we pay attention to every detail. From providing you with full meals, employing the very best staff, setting clear learning outcomes and covering both 'hard' and 'soft' skills – we want this to be the best course you've ever been on, and the best learning setting you've ever attended.

Our ask of you is simple – turn up with a positive attitude towards the course. We’ll handle the rest.

Take the Course Today

Get the training and education that you need to level up your qualifications at DTE Academy. We are the official training centre for one of the country’s biggest and most successful arboricultural contracting companies, Down To Earth Trees Ltd.

All of our courses are held in a laid back and constructive setting, welcoming all learners who strive to be their best. We welcome your enquiries and bookings for this five-day course.

FAQs

Why are we limited to trees up to 380mm?

The general consensus is that felling trees larger than 380mm requires a different skillset, one that is best acquired through extensive experience in the field. Some of the things that are different when it comes to felling large trees include:

• The larger area in play when it comes to protecting utilities, the public and other workers.

• The increased number of hazards involved and the increased scope of equipment integration.

• The increased hazards that come from larger trees that get hung up.

• The likelihood that assisted felling techniques will need to be incorporated.

• The increased forces necessary to ensure the tree is felled in the right direction.

What is cross cutting?

Cross cutting does not mean creating X's on a tree, it simply means cutting across the tree trunk or branch at a 90 degree angle. When cross cutting you should make sure that no part of the trunk is under pressure or tension. If it is, it's likely to spring up toward you the second the cut is complete.

I'm afraid of heights. Do I have to climb trees to be a tree surgeon?

In a word, yes. Tree surgeons spend much of their time ascending and descending trees while carrying quite a bit of equipment, including chainsaws. You will not be able to pursue a career as a tree surgeon if you are afraid of heights.

What is snedding?

Snedding involves removing the branches from the trunk of a tree to create a smooth log. The term is also applied to removing smaller branches from larger branches, again to create a smooth log. Snedding is typically done with a chainsaw.

Is this type of certification necessary to work as a tree surgeon?

Technically, there is no legal imperative for a person to pursue certification in order to become a tree surgeon. There is, however, practical reality to consider. By that we mean no respectable company will hire someone who has not proven their competence by receiving certification. So you can skip certification if you like, but if you do your chances of having a career as an arborist are virtually zero.