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Re-Open Connecticut Phase 2

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Governor Lamont’s administration has released documents detailing specific rules that eligible businesses falling under phase 2 of Connecticut’s reopening plans must follow amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The governor has stressed that the decision to reopen is entirely up to the indivudual business owner and they are not required to open, however if a business chooses to open, they must follow the  rules that are prescribed.

Businesses and nonprofits that are planning to reopen during Phase 2 on June 17th will need to visit Connecticut’s Self Certification Website to certify that they are complaint with the reopening rules for their sector.

UCONN looking for Adjunct Faculty, Urban Forestry and Arboriculture

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The Department of Natural Resources & Environment at UCONN is collecting contact information from interested persons with interest in becoming adjuncts in coarses related to Urban Forestry and Arboriculture.  The position(s) is at the Storrs campus and runs during both the fall and spring semesters.

Please click the link for more information:   NRE Adjunct Urban Forestry and Arboriculture

CAES Adds New Station Scientist Working in Urban Forestry

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The CT Agricultural Experiment Station is pleased to announce that Dr. Susanna Keriö has joined the staff of the Department of Forestry and Horticulture at the Station.  Susanna comes to New Haven by way of postdoctoral work at Oregon State University and after completing her doctorate at the University of Helsinki.  Her Master’s and Bachelor’s degree are from the University of Helsinki as well.  She brings to CAES an expertise in tree resistance to fungal diseases and in the molecular and genetic factors associated with the interactions between trees and fungi.

Dr. Jeff Ward, Department Head and Chief Scientist within the Department, encourages CTPA membership to welcome Dr. Keriö as she adjusts to life in Connecticut.  Jeff also looks forward to the many contributions that she will make regarding the health of Connecticut’s trees.  Jeff describes how in her research at CAES, Susanna will be applying her detailed knowledge towards developing innovative management strategies that will reduce tree stress and support tree health.  Her research focus will be in urban environments.

To learn more about Dr. Keriö’s background, see attached.

Welcome, Susanna.

Update on Arboriculture 101 Registration

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In a normal year, about now, the CTPA would be opening registration for the Fall Session of Arboriculture 101.  The Spring Session would have been over since early April.  An opportunity for people in the class to take the written exam would be scheduled for mid-May.  We would be expecting several people from the class to be qualified in time to take the oral exam, to be given in early June.

Needless to say, this is not a normal year.

Right now, our plans for the Fall Session are up in the air.  We don’t know what to promise people.  The preferred scenario, that we fill our small classroom with 40 or so committed students and hold the classes as per usual, does not seem likely.  More likely options are to hold the class with a fewer number of people, perhaps in a larger space, or to hold the classes electronically.  While the second option, putting the classes on Zoom, might seem the most realistic, there are downsides.  We wonder about class quality and how much is missed without the classroom experience.  For instructors, it is much easier to give a 3-hour class with a live audience than it is to stay focused and engaged while staring at a computer screen.  The same is just as true for the students.

Fortunately, we do not have to make a decision right now.  In order to ease the minds of those people interested in enrolling in Arboriculture 101, we are now accepting registrations for the Fall Session. We do this with the clear caveat that we don’t know even if we will hold the Fall Session, much less what form they will take.  PLEASE NOTE – WE ARE ASKING PEOPLE NOT TO SEND MONEY WITH THE REGISTRATION FORM.  We are asking people not to send money for two reasons.  The first is the uncertainty about the class.  The second reason – in these difficult times, we don’t want people to feel pressured to set aside money they might have a need for right now.

All of this is spelled out on our On-Line Registration page.  We do encourage people to sign up.  Depending upon how many people sign-up, we will make every effort to include those people in the next class.

As for completing the Spring Class – since the lock-down occurred before the class finished, that too is on hold.  We are committed to completing those classes as soon as we can – students in that class are aware of our plans.

Currently, no written Arborist Exams are being given by DEEP.  That is a big factor in our planning.  The Tree Protection Examining Board is planning to hold the June tree ID and oral exams as scheduled, but with social distancing measures in place.  Only people who had qualified by early March, the time the last written exams were given, will be eligible to take the June TPX exams.

This will be over at some point.  When it is, we will have a lot of catching up to do.  We mean that in several different ways.

Everyone, be safe and be careful.

Celebrate Arbor Day 2020!

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Just because we cannot celebrate Arbor Day as we would normally does not mean that we cannot celebrate Arbor Day!  And, with the weather not cooperating – there is all the more reason why an on-line Arbor Day might be just the thing.

So – how can you celebrate Arbor Day 2020?

The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has some suggestions.  Visit their Arbor Day 2020 page to learn more – including on how you can contribute to an Arbor Day celebration on Facebook and Instagram.

The City of Hartford also has a suggestion.  The City’s internationally-recognized Forester, Heather Dionne, talks about why urban trees matter, our changing climate zones, and how the City is taking steps to protect its magnificent canopy now and in the future despite dramatically changing weather and invasive pests.  You are invited to hear Heather’s talk on Protecting Hartford’s 560,000 Trees in the premier showing of her video on Arbor Day.  The video will go live at 11:30, at: www.facebook.com/CapitalForestCT

Another exciting program, especially for folks with school-age kids at home, is Connecticut’s Tree School.  This series of activities, organized by the CT Forest and Park Association, offers great ideas for young people and families, to help people young and old learn about trees.  The free, tree-related activities of the Tree School will continue throughout the spring.

And, of course, there are the suggestions put forward by the Arbor Day Foundation itself.

These are just a few of the many alternatives out there – I am sure many of Connecticut’s tree care companies have organized of their own that will be fun, engaging, spirited and educational.

Here’s to the day we celebrate trees and all that trees do for us.

Arbor Day – what a concept!

Enjoy!  Celebrate!

COVID-19 Update – Cloth Face Mask Requirement

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On April 17th, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7BB.  As a result of this Order, the Rules for a Safe Workplace have been updated, adding new requirements both for employees and employers regarding the wearing of face masks or coverings.

Among the provisions of this Executive Order, the Governor is now requiring that anyone in public who is not able to maintain proper social distance (6 feet distance) shall wear a cloth face covering of some kind.  As stated in the Executive Order:

Effective at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2020, any person in a public place in Connecticut who is unable to or does not maintain a safe social distance of approximately six feet from every other person shall cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth face-covering.

Reflective of this Order, this rule regarding cloth coverings has been added to the Safe Workplace Rules:

Each employee shall be required to wear a mask or other cloth material that covers his or her mouth and nose at all times while in the workplace. Employers shall issue such masks or cloth face coverings to their employees. In the event an employer is unable to provide masks or cloth face coverings to employees because of shortages or supply chain difficulties, employers must provide the materials and CDC tutorial about how to create a cloth face covering, or compensate employees for the reasonable and necessary costs employees expend on such materials to make their own masks or cloth face covering.

These rules are published by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.  The DECD website has several links with important information for Connecticut businesses.

CTPA members seeking to keep up on the State’s announcements regarding the coronavirus may also wish to visit the Safe Workplaces in Essential Businesses,  the COVID-19 – Helpful Links and the COVID-19 and Essential Businesses posts on the CTPA web site.

Keep safe and stay healthy!

Safe Workplaces in Essential Businesses

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On Tuesday, April 7th, Governor Lamont issued his 22nd Executive Order connected to the coronavirus outbreak and COVID-19.  In that Executive Order, the Governor mandated a set of workplace rules, also published on April 7th, for all essential businesses to follow.  This is the Set of Workplace Rules, posted on the Department of Economic and Community Development website.

The DECD website is also the place to go for information on the CARES Act, Coronavirus Business Recovery, SBA (Small Business Administration) Paycheck Protection Program and more.

The exact text of relevant portion of Executive Order 7V is:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, NED LAMONT, Governor of the State of Connecticut, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Connecticut, do hereby
ORDER AND DIRECT:

1. Safe Workplaces in Essential Businesses. Every workplace in the State of
Connecticut shall take additional protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission
of COVID-19 between and among employees, customers, and other persons such as
delivery drivers, maintenance people or others who may enter the workplace. The
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the
Commissioner of Public Health, shall issue legally binding statewide rules prescribing
such additional protective measures no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 7, 2020. Such rules
shall be mandatory throughout the state, for essential businesses and nonprofits and any
other business or nonprofit permitted to operate, and shall supersede and preempt any
current or future municipal order. Nothing in such rules or this order shall supersede
Executive Order No. 7S, Section 1, or the “Safe Stores” rules promulgated thereunder.

In more cheering news, one of CTPA’s members, Kyle DeLucia, founder and CEO of K&J Tree Service, made the cover of the Hartford Courant today for K&J’s efforts to support and rally the hospital workers at Yale-New Haven Hospital.  “I thought over the weekend about what I could do to help. I know they need people to donate masks, but I don’t have masks — so my niece helped me make a sign” Kyle is quoted in the story.

See the full story, including the oversize flag.  Nice going.

COVID-19 Update – Helpful Links

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The CTPA wishes to share with its members these links to resources related to the corona virus and how the COVID-19 situation relates to tree care in Connecticut.

In a previous post, we discussed Governor Lamont’s recent Executive Order on Essential Businesses.  Specific guidance as to what constitutes an essential business can be expected on a State of Connecticut web page specifically addressing “the suspension of non-essential in-person business operations”.   That guidance should be posted by 8 pm on Sunday, March 22.  The Governor has directed the Department of Economic and Community Development  (DECD) to do so.  Any concerns regarding the guidance issued should be directed to the DECD.

Additional information regarding the corona virus and COVID-19 has been posted on the State’s COVID-19 web page.

Connecticut is not the only state seeking to use such serious measures to deal with the corona virus.  The question as to what constitutes essential services is not limited to this state.  For that reason, the Tree Care Industry Association and the International Society of Arboriculture have written a joint TCIA / ISA position statement on essential services.  This position  statement may be useful to Connecticut’s arborists and tree care workers.  However, the statement itself may or may not have any influence over DECD as it considers whether tree care is an essential service.

The TCIA also has an excellent web page on the corona virus and COVID-19 entitled, “What Should Tree Care Businesses Know about the Corona Virus (COVID-19) Outbreak?”  Included on this jam-packed page are model policies and sample messages regarding COVID-19 that can be used in communication with your clients and with your employees.

CTPA members who have questions or comments should feel free to contact the CTPA office at info@ctpa.org.  They may also contact CTPA President Allan Fenner at afenner@savatree.com.

Stay safe, be healthy and keep a watch out for each other.

COVID-19 and Essential Businesses

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To CTPA members:

By now, everyone knows about the corona virus and the dangers posed by COVID-19, the disease that it causes and that is spreading rapidly throughout society.  On Friday, March 20, Governor Ned Lamont issued an Executive Order, effectively throwing a circuit breaker on social interaction, seeking to break the spread of this virus by curtailing all non-essential business activities.  The idea behind this circuit breaker is plain.  Because so much social activity and social interaction centers around business activities (think bars, restaurants, movie theaters, shopping centers), severely limiting these activities will also severely limit transmission of this disease.

We all get that.  At the same time, these same businesses are the lifeblood of our financial activities and the structural foundation as to how we live – including, especially, for anyone and everyone who works for a small business.  The Governor’s announcement of this order, on Friday afternoon, left it unclear the full extent as to which businesses are to be affected.  For CTPA members, this includes the question as to whether tree care businesses fall under the ‘essential services’ exception or not.

The full text of the Executive Order, released subsequently by the Secretary of the State, gives some further guidance on this question.   On page 3, towards the bottom, it lists, among those businesses to be considered as essential:

vendors of essential services and goods necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation and essential operations of residences or other essential businesses, including pest control and landscaping services

A bit later on, the Executive Order also states:

Any other business may be deemed essential after requesting an opinion from DECD (Department of Economic and Community Development), which shall review and grant such request, should it determine that it is in the best interest of the state to have the workforce continue at full capacity to properly respond to this emergency.

There are two other key points from the Executive Order to mention.  First, it states that the Commissioner of DECD shall issue binding guidance as to what businesses are to be considered essential by no later than 8 pm on Sunday, March 22.  Second, it sets the time frame for this ban on the opening of non-essential services as running from Monday, March 23 until Wednesday, April 22.

These citations do not explicitly include tree care businesses, but they do give some solid basis for thinking that they will be included as among those considered to be essential.  Regardless, the issuance of this Executive Order is difficult news for everyone, no matter what business you are in.  Certainly, this is not a step that our governing leadership is taking lightly.  The COVID-19 is a very serious threat that calls on all of us to bring out the best in ourselves and to do the right thing in combating this deeply contagious and currently uncontrolled disease .

The CTPA will keep in contact with state governmental leaders and will seek to keep our membership informed.  Let’s hope we have good news – make that great news – in time for Earth Day and Arbor Day, two of our favorite holidays.

In the meantime, be safe and stay healthy – and seek the same for all of your loved ones, your colleagues, acquaintances, business associates, clients and fellow workers.  We can do this.

Regards / the Board of the CTPA

2020 Climbing Competition – Boothe Park, Stratford

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The 35 competitors, along with the judges, timers, scorers, donors, volunteers and family get ready for the 16th annual CT Tree Climbing Competition.

The 2020 Connecticut Tree Climbing Competition

has been canceled.  See you next year!!!!

Each year, 25-30 climbers, men and women, participate in a competition that showcases the skill, safety, insight and knowledge that is all a part of climbing trees professionally.  The event also showcases the camaraderie, spirit and overall sense of fun that is also a part of this unique group of skilled individuals.

The Five Qualifying Events in the CT Tree Climbing Competition are:

  1. The Ascent Event – This is a new event and is replacing the footlock.
  2. Throw Line Accuracy – a timed event in which the competitor sets three different lines in specified parts of a tree.
  3. Belayed Speed Climb – a timed ‘free-climb’ (climber is belayed) 40′ to 60′ up a selected tree.
  4. Work Climb – five work stations are set within a given tree and competitors are scored as they move through the tree completing assigned tasks.
  5. Aerial Rescue – climbers are timed as they ‘rescue’ a dummy set in a tree.

Contact CTPA

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 1946, Wallingford CT 06492
PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 60 Church Street (Rte 68), Suite 3A, Wallingford , CT 06492
PHONE: 203-484-2512
EMAIL: info@ctpa.org

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