ARBORICULTURE Consultancy SERVICES

To discuss your consultancy needs

Our Consulting Arborists hail from many industries including utilities, mining, construction, planning and government. Our team has at least 15 years’ experience in trees, a Diploma of Arboriculture (or higher), and at least one type of tree risk assessment qualification.

UFT do not offer operational works such as tree pruning and removals, so you can be assured that our consultancy advice is free of conflicting interests and is truly independent. We do offer frank and transparent tree appraisal, and plain English recommendations tailored to the client’s situation.

We provide:

• Comprehensive Tree Reports

• Residential Tree Appraisals

• Arboricultural Impact Assessments

• Tree Protection Plans

• Other services upon request

Our current and past clients include Property Developers, Councils, Schools and Universities, Commercial and Residential Property Managers, Private Residents, Golf Courses, Motels and Caravan Parks.

COMPREHENSIVE TREE REPORTS

The comprehensive tree report is our flagship consultancy product. Our reports cover a range of uses including development applications, disputes between parties, compliance and risk management, tree valuation and damaged/declining tree rescue. They can also be scalable, from a high level summary down to granular technical detail, depending on the client’s need. Get a tree health care plan, a transparent risk assessment, a staged pruning program, a reckoning of environmental benefits, an expert opinion piece, or any of several other report types to help you to efficiently resolve your tree challenges. 

While a report will be tailored to the situation, common elements would include:

• Introduction and client brief

• Methodology and limitations

• Inspection observations

• Risk assessment

• Photos and maps

• Research findings

• Summary and conclusions

• Recommendations

• References

• Glossary of terms

Progress check ins and regular communication is the key to our product really meeting the client’s needs. A comprehensive tree report should leave no arboricultural questions unanswered.

This product is for the resident who loves their tree, but really doesn’t need a Comprehensive Tree Report. There won’t be a risk assessment, discussion, research, or the like. It won’t support a development application or resolve a neighbourly dispute. 

With the Consulting Arborist’s observations and recommendations only, in a fairly brief dot point format. The tree owner can then move on with caring for their tree and their property, with the benefit of qualified advice.

Arboricultural Impact Assessments

AIAs serve an ever growing need in the construction industry. Especially in cities, trees will often be affected by building, road, water and electricity infrastructure construction, sometimes to the point where they cannot be safely retained. The AIA provides a no-nonsense industry compliant appraisal of the intended construction activity’s considered impact on the tree/s, using the guidance provided by AS4970-2009 Protection of Trees on Development Sites, and the Consultant’s own considerable experience.

Data supported recommendations will be provided for the removal or retention and protection of the affected tree/s. The AIA can be formatted in different ways depending on the number of trees, complexity of the construction project, and the client’s requirements.

TREE PROTECTION PLANS

Do you have a significant or otherwise important tree growing near the site of some future earthworks, level changes, or other construction works? The TPP is the next level up from the AIA, for important trees that need to survive and thrive through construction works, either due to an emotional attachment, historical significance, a regulatory direction, or just an appreciation of the value of living trees.

The TPP will provide detailed information where required, such as:

• The importance of the tree/s

• A summary of the intended construction works

• Tree condition and construction tolerances

• Pre, during, and post construction tree health care / improvement recommendations

• Tree protection barriers, exclusion zones

• Pre-start meeting agenda points

• Site parking, vehicle movement, material storage

• Work sequencing

• Beneficial construction materials and methodologies

• Hold points, inspections, check ins

• Tree protection non-negotiables

• Post construction tree health monitoring

Our Consulting Arborist can also stay attached to the project throughout construction if required, to assist the builder with advice and direction, monitor compliance, oversee excavation, and to generally “speak for the trees”.

The earlier we can be involved in the project planning, the much better tree protection results we can achieve. It cannot be overstated, how much more time and cost effective it is, not to mention more successful, for the Consulting Arborist to be involved at the concept design stage rather than only at the detailed design or pre-start stage. If that sounds a bit counter intuitive to you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch for an explanation.