Volunteering

[No_Bivy]

Since this past year was pretty stellar for me, I decided to donate some treework....I know it's crazy. Anyway this is the WNC Nature Center. A city run park/zoo that houses mostly native animals(rehabed or confiscated). Great place to take the kids.....deperatly needs tree work. The city does a have ass job when they come and certainly doesn't allocate money for outside contractors. Free PR and maybe a write off for me I guess.
Here we are waiting for the curators to catch the Golden Eagles so we can remove some Ailanthus and Poplar growing up through the enclosure. I guess the Bear was interested in all the commotion. Peacock showing off.

[MasterBlaster]

Ha! Yesterday I did a job (but not free) at a zoo, too.

[No_Bivy]

PITA removal, cut and chucked pieces off the top of the enclosure. The reason besides invasive control was to increase sun into the exhibit. I guess the birds enjoy sunning themselves. When the keeper caught the bird, I though it would bite the shat outta her. She said it'd the talons you have to watch out for. It is the opposite for the Vulture, she grabbed it by the head since the beak is the dangerous part......better them then me.

[No_Bivy]

Ha! Yesterday I did a job (but not free) at a zoo, too.

Tiger exhibit?

[MasterBlaster]

Nah, dead limbs over a walkway.

[Blinky]

Nice work... volunteering's a good thing. Worked in a Gator park with Guy in Florida about this time last year; that was paid but then we did the Andersonville DoS on the way home.

Do they still have the gray wolves there? Those are some SPOOKY creatures.

[pantheraba]

John, that peacock picture is awesome!!

That's a great thing to be doing. I'd love to be there to help, great working environment. Peapod and Leo will learn learn some good things from your good example...maybe they'll even get some special tours of the center.

I took out some hangers (freehand work, no saw work) last weekend from a big oak where some of us train outside. It is also part of a playground where chilluns play (including Hayden). The county would probably never get around to it, easy enough for me.

This is a good thread to start. I'd be curious to see what other folks do.

Carl - LJ - and I will be pruning in Andersonville Cemetery in May (site of a big Civil War POW camp).

[No_Bivy]

We are gonna remove a tree from a Cougar exhibit....cause of the Tiger escape. This cat has been de-clawed since it was a pet rescue....and it's old. Two new cougars are coming but they have claws and can climb trees:O

[pantheraba]

Peapod!!!! You already have her there...cool pictures.

[No_Bivy]

John, that peacock picture is awesome!!

That's a great thing to be doing. I'd love to be there to help, great working environment. Peapod and Leo will learn learn some good things from your good example...maybe they'll even get some special tours of the center.

I took out some hangers (freehand work, no saw work) last weekend from a big oak where some of us train outside. It is also part of a playground where chilluns play (including Hayden). The county would probably never get around to it, easy enough for me.

This is a good thread to start. I'd be curious to see what other folks do.

Carl - LJ - and I will be pruning in Andersonville Cemetery in May (site of a big Civil War POW camp).

Yesterday we worked on the Nature Trail....felling hazard fellings. Burnham you would been proud.. Gary, If you are ever wanting to give time, the more the merrier. Some other Arb friends of mine are gonna do a big push on removing the deadwood over the nature trail, Im hoping to wrangle 5 or six climbers

[No_Bivy]

Peapod!!!! You already have her there...cool pictures.

Yeh, we got the behind the scenes tour, wanna see the pics?

[vharrison]

:)No Bivy, good on you! Peapod looks like she is enjoying her time there! Volunteering is a good thing!

[No_Bivy]

Chip, there are four Grey Wolves, two endangered Red Wolves, coyotes, foxes, you name it. Here are a few behind the scenes pics. The Bear photo was hard to get, i was skeered to get any closer. This is inside there "den". These two bears were rescued from the "Santas Land" outside Cherokee. Since the reservation does not follow the same laws they catch cubs everyyear to put on display.....pathetic. The power that be are trying to stop em.
Watson the weasel, found as a "pinky" on the sidewalk by some kids. Rehabed. If weasels were bigs as dogs they would be dangereous as shat!!!!

[vharrison]

Yeh, we got the behind the scenes tour, wanna see the pics?

Of course we want to see the pics!!

[No_Bivy]

a few snakes....Scarlett king snake, copperhead. They have a full range of native snakes

[No_Bivy]

I have a vid of some of the tree felling........waiting on Youtube:X

[vharrison]

:\:Did you have to show the SNAKES?

[No_Bivy]

Finally. This was fun...dumped the very dead Oak into the woods. Did several along the nature path, but this was the biggest and most fun. Sometimes I like reaping carnage..............:lol: What say thee Burnham?
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[No_Bivy]

:\:Did you have to show the SNAKES?

chicken....:lol:

[pantheraba]

Yesterday we worked on the Nature Trail....felling hazard fellings. Burnham you would been proud.. Gary, If you are ever wanting to give time, the more the merrier. Some other Arb friends of mine are gonna do a big push on removing the deadwood over the nature trail, Im hoping to wrangle 5 or six climbers

Let me know your dates when you get it worked out...I'm interested.

[No_Bivy]

Let me know your dates when you get it worked out...I'm interested.

cool.......

[No_Bivy]

bears here dont' "hibernate", they go into a sleep called "topor". They do wake up if conditions are good, and they can wake up to defend themselves. Weird being this close to one.....
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[pantheraba]

hahahha...great sound on the video...carnage - hoorah!!

[sotc]

some years they hibernate here and some years they dont. we have 300% of annual snow pack so im sure they are this year!
i love to hear the big ones go over john thanks. ive got a coupl volunteer things in mind this year, so far only one on the books and thats a kids climbing day in june

[Paul B]

Cool John. :) I have chattered about organizing some of the same kind of thing here but usually the sites like schools or other public places are problems to get permission due to union issues. :(

[Skwerl]

Fantastic stuff, John. The hollerin' when the big dead tree went over was great! :lol:

[gf beranek]

Nice tour, thanks, John

[Greenhorn]

One of the latest members - Crazy Jimmy does work at the Fort Worth Zoo, maybe he'll post some pics.

No Bivy - does the ice in cooler melt quickly where its mounted - was thinking about doing that????

[Burnham]

John, I thought I was gonna be able to see your vid since I'm down here in Scottsdale, AZ on a hotel 'puter, but no dice...have to wait until I can get to the library at home...my work system has youtube blocked, and I guess they do here too. Sorry.

[No_Bivy]

are you felling catus there or something?

[MasterBlaster]

Hahaha!

[Ed L]

Good job and cool pics!
That looks like a really neat place to work.

Ed

[JIML]

looks like a cool place to work. I always enjoy sending an entire tree into the woods too!

[treelooker]

l I always enjoy sending an entire tree into the woods too!I always enjoy keeping at least part of them vertical. Too bad that one couldn't be shortened to a snag for wildlife.

I got yesterday's job--6 hours on the clock doing fun preservation work--by volunteering. Spoke to the audubon club a few months ago. 3rd job out of that gig so far, all no-bid, "do what you think is right" kind of work.

The Rrrrrichest kind of work there is! 8)

[No_Bivy]

We have created a few habitate spars there, but this one was way to dangerous to climb..no crane..no bucket = no way......sorry wood peckers.:|:

[Skwerl]

Not meaning to toot my own horn but I got to do some volunteer work this morning for the local Audubon Society. It's called the Center for Birds of Prey and they focus on Raptors (owls, eagles, falcons, hawks, etc). My job this morning was to place 3 baby Great Horned Owls back into fabricated nests hung in the trees from which they came. The first one was quite large, about 5 weeks old. His brother (sister?) was up in the tree already and mama was flying around overhead. Another local tree guy and I hung the nest and set the baby in it. Hopefully he stays put for another week or two until he can fly.

[squisher]

Cool! Man it looked like he was gonna jump there in a couple of those pics.:O

[Skwerl]

The second stop was placing a couple much smaller babies. They were only 2 weeks old, which hopefully will give them a better chance of staying put. I couldn't reach the top of the specified tree but I was able to get within 20' so it was an easy climb and Jeff was assisting from the bucket. He also took a messload of pictures. :D

[MasterBlaster]

Pretty danged cool! :thumbup:

[Blinky]

That's just too cool.

[OTGBOSTON]

whoa! wicked cool!

[No_Bivy]

:thumbup:Awesome Brian!!! Watch out for the talons!!!.... MB, how bout' a sticky on this thread....could be really cool.

[Burnham]

are you felling catus there or something?


HA, you'd sure think so, to look out at the National "Forest". Actually, it's the annual FS National Tree Climbing program's Technical Advisory Group meeting. I serve as the regional TA for WA and OR.

Do you have an acronym headache yet? :)

Tomorrow we are doing some gear/technique demo climbs in a couple the only wild trees for 50 miles in any direction...crazy place here...don't see why people choose to live in the desert, but they do, in spades!

Brian, that's very neat. Great work.

[rumination]

Good karma for both you guys and great pictures too!

[treelooker]

Nice work, Brian!! Toot away!!!

[pantheraba]

Super pictures...excellent work. Beautiful birds.

[stehansen]

Good job Brian, you know those guys will be huntin varmints in a few months. Keep your head down after dark. I go past our local animal rescue place all the time and they have about a dozen fan palms that haven't been trimmed in about 20 years. Ugh.

[sotc]

cool brian! bout time we got to see the new decals installed!

[stehansen]

Was there local newspaper coverage?

[Paul B]

thats cool Brian. well done you fellas! :D

[oldirty]

is there a buzzard rescue league or is it only for the prestigious birds of prey?

gotta look out for my boys.


nice pics and better work guys. thanks

[Burnham]

Finally. This was fun...dumped the very dead Oak into the woods. Did several along the nature path, but this was the biggest and most fun. Sometimes I like reaping carnage..............:lol: What say thee Burnham?
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vhHbp5BMC2M"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vhHbp5BMC2M" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

John sent me an email to make sure I caught his vid and question. Here's my reply that I sent back before I had an opportunity to view it:

I will as soon as I can get to a computer that has youtube enabled, John. Sorry to be so late in replying, I'm on a work trip down to Scottsdale, AZ. Attending a FS climbing program technical advisory group meeting.

We have to drive 40 minutes to get to the closest wild trees to do some demo testing climbing tomorrow...there are three cottonwoods and no others for 50+ miles . I don't know why people like to live in the desert.

I will be checking your vid out as soon as I can.

General advice? Keep your head up, looking at the top, as much as possible as you put in the face and backcut. Do this in a standing possition, not down low. When wedging those over, make sure to not set up a rhythm...that can really start the dead shat to fall on your head. Running is good, too...make sure you have an escape path planned and cleared, and use it! As soon as the tree commits, get away behind another tree and stay there for as long as it takes for eveything to settle down...plus a count of 10!

Snags are out to kill you...no doubt about it. Work with them with that idea in the front of your mind.

I'll look forward to seeing the vid.
Burnham

I finally did get to view it! Hard to see much detail, but it looks like you followed much of the general advice I offered up...you did a fine job!

[No_Bivy]

Crane guy agreed to donate a little time for this PI covered Poplar over fox exhibits........I hope I don't end up in the doctors office for this one:O
Mostly rode up, bombed what I could, picked the trunk wood:)

[No_Bivy]

oh yeah...had to boom everything into the enclosure since the primary was only 8' away.....I was pinching a bit:|:

[OTGBOSTON]

Technu is a great product to use after exposure to PI Biv-man....

[No_Bivy]

I have it....washed wit it. But no matter, this risk is still there. I better wash that rope and my handsaw for sure