Ged got ‘roped’ into working with trees by a mate’s dad and has never looked back. His passion for trees and tree climbing has grown over the years and becoming a tree climber meant he could care for trees and be physically active in an outdoor environment.

Gerard now holds a Diploma and Certificate IV Arboriculture from Burnley College, Melbourne University as well as having close to 20 years of experience in the arboricultural industry.

In 2006, Gerard and his wife Wiebke established Arboressence in Wangaratta, after having gained extensive experience in tree climbing and arboriculture working as an employee and later contract climber across Australia and overseas.

Gerard continually undergoes professional development to keep abreast of scientific and technical developments in the industry ensuring the highest quality of work through refined and efficient systems with a high level of climber safety.

Throughout his career Gerard has been actively involved with industry organisations such as the Victorian Tree Climbing Association, Arboriculture Australia and the International Society of Arboriculture as well as training facilities at the University of Melbourne, RMIT and Wodonga TAFE, where he has provided practical instruction trough training courses or workshops in Arboriculture.

He has regularly participated successfully in regional and international tree climbing championships and ranked amongst the 4 top climbers in Australia for over 12 years.

Qualifications

Dipl Hort Arb Burnley College, Uni Melb
Cert IV Hort Arb, Burnley College
Cert II ESI Vegetation Clearance
ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)

Favourite tree

Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum)

Rod joined the team in April 2020 to take some pressure of the management team and improve systems and processes.

Rod’s background: Having managed his own tree care business over in Gippsland for a number of years,  he branched out into teaching arboriculture both as ClimberTrainingAustralia as well as at Wodonga TAFE.

Qualifications
Diploma of Arboriculture
Certificate IV Arboriculture
Cert IV in Training & Assessment

Favourite tree
Ficus microphylla (Banyan)

Leon started working with Arboressence in May 2013 and eventually joined the climbing team. His dry sense of humour keeps up the team spirit even in the most adverse weather situations.

Qualifications
Cert III in Arboriculture
Cert II ESI Vegetation Clearance

Favourite tree
Ulmus parvifolia (Chinese Elm)

Wiebke is the co-founder of Arboressence and deals with all things administrational.

Favourite tree
Fagus sylvatica (European Beech)

Gus…

Qualifications
working on Certificate III in Arboriculture

Favourite tree
Eucalyptus regnans (Mountain Ash)

Nick…

Qualifications
working on Certificate III in Arboriculture

Favourite tree
 Adansonia gregorii (Boab or Bottle Tree)