About the Climber

As a boy of 10 or 11, in historic Warren RI, my grandfather taught me how to footlock and make a saddle out of rope. Luckily, for me, he had been an arborist and had experience training tree climbers. 

I started my career at a tree company that specializes in scientific tree care and plant protection. They provided me with access to a structured arboricultural education beginning with a mail-in tree surgery correspondence course.  

Then, I went to work for a line-clearance tree-trimming company, pruning the trees back from the high voltage transmission lines in the woods. This is where I learned about the electrical distribution system and how to identify the different elements it is composed of.  

Next, I went to work for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. At the DOT, I performed treework along the highways and byways of Rhode Island. I also applied herbicides to guardrails and right of ways.   

Finally, I went to work for an east coast train-line maintenance company. Here I pruned the trees back from the electrical catinary lines that power the trains. The work was performed during the third shift after the last run of the high speed Acela train at night.  

During each place of employment I continued my education. I pursued college degrees at Rhode Island State colleges. This helped me to better understand the scientific and technical reports that working in arboriculture requires.  

I started with a liberal arts degree in order to better understand the technical literature needed to care for the trees; pruning, disease identification, chemical applications, safety standards, and environmental laws.

Next, I earned an applied science degree in eletronics technology in order to have a better understanding of all the wires on the poles and their supporting systems.

Lastly, I earned a bachelor's degree that mirrored the Technology Education program at Rhode Island College, in order to learn more about the rest of the man-made systems that trees live around. It included classroom and laboratory research in construction, energy, communications and manufacturing technologies.  

Interestingly, this was at the beginning of a broader nationwide STEM(Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathmatics) movement.