A Talk in the Trees is back and we have the excellent Derrick Martin with us. We were fortunate enough to meet Derrick at the World Climbing Championships in San Antonio earlier in the year. An impressive, talented climber and arborist, Derrick is an all-round great guy and we’re lucky to be able to call him a friend.
1. I became an Arborist because…
I was first drawn to tree work because of the climbing aspect of the job. Being able to climb and move through a tree was extremely fun and challenging.
2. My favourite tree is…
It’s hard to pinpoint one tree as a favourite. I enjoy climbing and working in Hackberry’s, Oaks, Sycamores and Silver Maples. My favourite climbs are large mature trees with a wide open canopy.
3. I can’t leave home without…
A hammock! But I will also always carry a simple climbing kit in my car, consisting of a harness, throw line, climbing line, RopeRunner and helmet with a footlocking prussic.
4. The perfect day at work would include…
A no clean up job with a removal that needed to be climbed up nothing rigged. And woods grove of trees that need hazard deadwood removed. Something where you can traverse between a number of trees without coming down. Makes you strategically plan the climb and often times lets you use multiple techniques to accomplish the work.
5. The worst part of my job is...
Getting poison ivy. Its unavoidable and sometimes you just have to work in it to get the job done.
6. The best slice of wisdom I can pass on is...
The saying might go ‘work smarter, not harder’ but don’t discount hard work. You’ll never reach your goals without putting in the hard work to get there.
7. If I could hang out in a tree with one person (past/present/living/dead), it would be…
I’ve had the privilege to work beside some very well respected Arborists (Mark Chisholm, Jared Abrojena, Cormac and Whitelock to name a few). I’d love to get a chance to work with others such as Strasser, Forrest and Kilpatrick. The list would be never ending. But if I had to narrow it down to one person…then I can’t wait to take my son up in a tree and get to climb around with him one day. So I would say my boy, Connor.
8. The one tree I’d like to climb is…
The Euc tree featured in the Spiderjacky video Joe Harris did with ART. I wanna climb it with a RopeRunner because he made that climb look so smooth!
9. If I wasn’t an arborist I’d be a…
I can seriously not imagine not being an arborist. I’d try finding another job half as exciting.