UK Wide Tree Officer Survey Launched

A UK wide Tree Officer survey has been launched by the Arboricultural Association.

To participate in the survey please use the link below:

http://www.trees.org.uk/News-Blog/News/UK-Wide-Tree-Officer-Survey-Launched

The Institute of Chartered Foresters Professional Member Phil Simpkin MICFor, Natural Environment Officer at Wycombe District Council, tells us about his experience of presenting at the inaugural National Tree Officers Conference last year

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT?

I had never spoken at a conference when I saw the call for papers for the inaugural National Tree Officers Conference, but I was working on a tree canopy cover and planning policy at the time, and I thought that this topic would be of real interest to Tree Officers around the country.

I was nervous about the prospects of standing up and speaking in front of such a large group as I’ve not got much experience of public speaking, and the memory of standing in front of my class at school and giving a speech on the destruction of the rain forests has stalked me for years. It needn’t have. For that speech, I hardly prepared and barely practiced. This time, however, I spoke to friends and colleagues, I searched around on the internet for advice, and by 2016, I had gained a lot more life experience than I had at school.

HOW DID YOU PLAN YOUR PRESENTATION?

I prepared a lot for the conference! I made sure that my presentation followed a good structure, that I focussed on the key headlines, and that I practiced talking about the slides. By splitting my presentations into sections with sub headings and pictures, rather than writing a script, I immediately knew what I wanted to say when I saw each slide. Preparing like this meant that I did not feel as nervous as I might have done otherwise. The adrenalin was still there but as soon as I got up and started speaking, the preparation took over and drowned out the butterflies and my pounding heartbeat.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE?

If I can stand up and speak in front of a room packed with people then I genuinely think anyone can do so with enough preparation. If I get to do it again, I will definitely dedicate time to practice before, and I will also try to be aware of how much information I’m trying to convey in the time available and so avoid cramming things in.

WHAT POSITIVE IMPACT DID IT HAVE ON YOU?

I am really pleased that I took on the challenge of presenting at last year’s conference. Not only did it help rid me of the presenting demons from my past and give my confidence a boost, but it was also really great to share my thinking about tree canopy cover planning policy, which I genuinely feel is a really important topic, with the industry and my peers.

Kelly Suvari, shares her experience of presenting at the National Tree Officers Conference in 2016

Kelly Suvari, Arboricultural Officer at London Borough of Camden, tells us about her experience of presenting at the National Tree Officers Conference (NTOC) in 2016.

Why did you decide to submit an abstract?

When I first heard about the National Tree Officers Conference, I was interested to attend but I never thought I would end up presenting to such a wide audience of tree professionals. At the time I had been working on creating an internal procedure for tree officers in relation to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. The aim of creating this document, was to give some clarity and method when dealing with this legislation.

I thought this subject might be of interest to other Tree Officers, and for me to get some feedback on how they deal with different situations that arise. For these reasons, and encouragement from my colleagues, I decided to submit a paper.

How did you plan your presentation?

I get very nervous when it comes to public speaking, and I have only ever presented at team meetings, therefore the idea of presenting to such a large audience was very daunting for me. However, I believe if you plan well and practise your presentation you will overcome your nerves.

When I was preparing my presentation I prepared the main topic points within my PowerPoint notes section, to ensure I did not over complicate things for myself and the audience. I used bullet points to prompt me and this kept me focused. I found using diagrams also helped me to explain processes more clearly, rather than getting tongue-tied trying to talk about everything.

What did you learn from the experience?

It was a great experience to speak at the National Tree Officers Conference, it has given me the confidence to present to a large audience again in the future. I found the feedback after my presentation to be really useful. If I was to do this again, I would allow myself more time to practise, elaborate more where needed, practise my timing and rehearse out loud with a smaller audience.

The submission period for abstracts to be presented at the National Tree Officers Conference 2017 is now open and it will close on Friday 12th May 2017 at 17:00hrs. For further information click here

Andy Tipping MICFor tells us about his experience of presenting at the inaugural National Tree Officers Conference

The Institute of Chartered Foresters Professional Member Andy Tipping MICFor, Trees & Woodlands Manager at London Borough of Barnet, tells us about his experience of presenting at the inaugural National Tree Officers Conference (NTOC) in 2016.

Why did you decide to submit an abstract?

We had recently let new tree contracts and challenged the usual setup to try and make our contractors more specialised to and add performance management which tied in with Social Value. I thought that the topic was interesting and wanted to let others know that, far from being the harrowing experience I had anticipated, this situation should be looked on as an opportunity to change things that don’t work and enhance those that do.

How did you plan your presentation?

I learned a long time ago that PowerPoint doesn’t help me – it’s usually been more of a distraction than anything else. In my presentation, I wanted to engage the audience and get the steer from them, so I used a flip chart and got people shouting up answers from the floor, which seemed to liven things up!
What did you learn from the experience?

That we can all learn from each other. The conference was great because it simply provided a platform for Tree Officers from all over the country to get together and talk about their daily working lives. This style is very inclusive and so no one should feel deterred from speaking. In fact, I would recommend the experience to any Tree Officer – especially those from outside the M25! If you want to gain some public experience, you couldn’t ask for a better baptism of friendly fire.

What positive impact did it have on you?

I have been attending conferences for many years and lately, most of these have had an emphasis on Urban Trees, their significance and management. And yet it is remarkable how rarely you get a presentation by a Tree Officer – someone who is actually managing the urban tree stock professionally. The idea of hosting a National Tree Officers Conference which brought these professionals together in the middle of the country to exchange their ideas made this day one of the best conferences I have ever attended – a sentiment echoed by many I spoke to afterwards.

The submission period for abstracts to be presented at the National Tree Officers Conference 2017 is now open and it will close on Friday 12th May 2017 at 17:00hrs. For further information click here