Ask the trees how they want to be cared for, they will teach you better than books.
Friedrich Pfeil, German forester and educator
I became an arborist not only because I loved trees, but because I was intensely curious about them—a curiosity I strive to encourage in my students. I had no intention of becoming a teacher, however, and fell into the role almost by accident. I had served once as a co-instructor for a half-day pruning workshop at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, so I was familiar with the institution when they emailed to see if I might be able to step in on occasion as a substitute instructor. When I went to campus to discuss the arrangement with the Dean, she and two other faculty members asked if they could interview me for an adjunct faculty position. It felt a bit like an ambush, but I was game for it.
The interview went smoothly, and soon the Dean called me to ask If I would accept the position. I said yes before allowing myself time to think it over. She next asked if I could start on Monday the following week. It was already Thursday, so I spent the weekend frantically outlining a curriculum for an “Arboriculture I” course.
Ten years later, I still use the main outline of that curriculum, though the details have evolved as I learn from students what leaves a lasting impression for them. Participants in my courses include not only aspiring arborists, but also students of nursery production, landscape design, and construction. Reaching a broad audience at the beginning of their careers is critical, since the “Green Industry” includes several separate disciplines with goals that do not always complement each other. Arborists are most often called on to address problems at the very end of a chain of events that did not support long-term tree success. In hopes of limiting such emergencies, I encourage all my students to “think like an arborist,” no matter what discipline they pursue.
There are three pillars to my teaching approach: inquiry, experiential learning, and critical thinking. Let’s look at each of them.
Inquiry
On the first day of the semester, students are surprised to learn that I do not write the final exam for the course—they do. Each student is required to generate at least two questions per week based on their readings of assigned chapters in the course text, the ISA Arborists’ Certification Study Guide (currently in its fourth edition, 2022). I want the students to demonstrate the kind of engagement with the subject matter that they would never get passively listening to lecture-based instruction. Student-generated questions are often useful for weekly discussions during the semester. At the end of the semester, I assemble the most useful questions into the final exam for the course. A well-written question might have several plausible yet incorrect answers and will require genuine understanding of the topic to discern which is right. Questions that demonstrate insight and a dose of humor always capture my attention.
Crafting good questions takes practice, but the practice fosters a state of inquiry: an open, curious mindset that can keep a person vital throughout life. The quality of the questions we pose determines the quality of our lives and the kinds of answers we get. We live in a culture that seems to value telling more than listening. We are constantly bombarded with advertising and social media trying to persuade us of something or other. A state of inquiry builds listening skills and can make us better arborists and better people. A good arborist needs to listen to the trees just as much as they need to listen to people.
A good arborist needs to listen to the trees just as much as they need to listen to people.
Experiential Learning
Students who come to technical colleges are interested in hands-on education; they want to learn how to do things, not learn about things. Experiential learning accommodates a variety of learning styles. The more senses are involved in a learning activity, the deeper it sinks into memory. We do as many outdoor, hands-on projects as possible during the course, given the shifting seasonal weather and light conditions of autumn in Minnesota. As an adjunct faculty member with access to the resources of Rainbow Tree Company, I bring in colleagues as guest speakers, along with machinery such as the Air Spade for demonstrations. We spend several class sessions learning about proper planting techniques by tearing apart ball and burlap nursery stock to look for the location and condition of the root flare before planting. Students also take part in a lab session simulating oak wilt, in which they need to generate a site plan to respond to a hypothetical outbreak of the pathogen on campus.
As the fall semester progresses, the days shorten, and the weather becomes less conducive to outdoor activities. The class then turns its attention toward completion of the semester project based on the CODIT process (the model posited by Dr. Alex Shigo for the Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees). Each student is required to build a physical model of the CODIT process, and present their work to the rest of the class. Their creativity is impressive and inspiring. I have seen students make embroidery projects, cakes, and charcuterie plates, all depicting the way trees compartmentalize wounds and decay.
Independent, Critical Thinking
The mission of Hennepin Technical College is to provide career training, paired with critical thinking skills. We live in a society awash in information and disinformation, and have drifted into polarized identities, with little real exchange between different groups. The classroom offers a great opportunity to address some of these issues. Each semester, we spend an entire session on a wide-ranging discussion of invasive species. Ahead of class, students write papers in response to prepared questions, and we establish ground rules for the discussion. The aim is not to arrive at any pre-determined conclusion about management of invasive species, but to clarify values and be able to speak from them in a civil and productive manner.
It has never been easier to find endless information at our every whim, but how do we sort the good from the bad? In class, we delve into the topic of scientific literacy and learn how to evaluate validity of information. It is worthwhile for all of us to consider some of these questions: How do we know what we know? What can we trust? What are my values and how do they serve as a basis for my actions? These kinds of questions matter not only for success in arboriculture, but for citizenship in complex times.
Kent Honl has worked for Rainbow Tree Company in Minnetonka, Minnesota since 1994, and serves as an adjunct faculty in the Landscape Horticulture program at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.