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- Manage trees for local councils or as a contractor
- Help protect the environment for future generations
- May require a nationally recognised arboricultural qualification
Arboricultural officers manage and maintain trees for local councils and arboricultural contractors. You'll usually work for a local authority or another organisation that manages trees and tree planting schemes in public places.
Your daily work would include advising on planning applications to take account of tree protection laws; managing trees in parks, open areas, and at the side of roads; organising tree surveys and recording tree locations; planning tree planting schemes; supervising tree care and tree planting contracts with site visits; giving demonstrations and talks on arboriculture and woodlands to schools and other community groups; or training junior colleagues and volunteers.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Advising on planning applications to take account of tree protection laws
- Managing trees in parks, open areas and at the side of roads
- Organising tree surveys and recording tree locations
- Planning tree planting schemes
- Supervising tree care and tree planting contracts with site visits
- Giving demonstrations and talks on arboriculture and woodlands to schools and other community groups
- Training junior colleagues and volunteers
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll usually work for a local authority or another organisation that manages trees and tree planting schemes in public places.
You could work in woodland, in an office, in parks and gardens or on the streets. Your working environment may be at height and outdoors in all weathers. You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.
You'll need
You'll usually need to have experience working in an arboriculture role like a tree surgeon or arboricultural assistant before moving into this kind of role, and you may need a nationally recognised arboricultural qualification like the Certificate in Arboriculture, or a higher-level qualification.
Other relevant courses include the Level 2 Diploma in Work-based Trees and Timber or Level 3 Diploma in Work-based Trees and Timber. You could also take courses through The Horticultural Correspondence College, for example, Level 2 Certificates in Arboriculture and Forestry.
It may help if you have a foundation degree, HND, or a degree in a relevant subject like forestry arboriculture, countryside management, forest management, or woodland ecology and conservation.
To help you get started you could get some relevant work experience through local authority parks departments, landscapers, gardeners, tree surgeons, forestry contractors or conservation bodies like National Trust.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could go on to manage a team of arboricultural officers, such as in a local authority, co-ordinating work with outside contractors. You could also progress to work as a consultant, advising organisations on tree management, conservation and safety.