Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, December 13 Title: Hong Kong "Tree Doctor" Li Guowen: Cure the tree, be cured by the tree
Xinhua News Agency reporter Hong Xuehua
Arborist Li Guowen sorts out his work equipment (photo taken on November 23). Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gang/Photo
One day in 2009, a group of people gathered in front of a 70-year-old Araucaria tree at Marino College in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong, shouting the slogan "Against cutting down trees" over and over again.
Arborist Li Guowen was surrounded by people and could not get close to the tree at all, he was the one responsible for cutting the tree that day. Police quickly arrived at the scene to maintain order, and the Araucaria, which was more than 20 meters high, finally ended his life.
"The last thing a tree artist wants to do is cut down a tree." Li Guowen said that the araucaria root was badly damaged, flowing out of the glue-like viscous sap, which could collapse at any time, endangering the safety of pedestrians, and the school decided to remove it.
But arborists are more often treated by trees, and they are also called "tree doctors" as well. According to the Development Bureau of the HKSAR Government, there are more than 1,000 registered arborists in Hong Kong and more than 1 million trees need to be managed.
"Trees are actually like people, they have tempers and personalities"
Arborist Li Guowen demonstrates tools for pruning branches on November 23. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gang/Photo
Working outdoors for a long time, Li Guowen's skin is dark, but his full mental state does not show that he is 63 years old. He has a set of arborist work equipment: hard hats, goggles, tree climbing ropes, electric chain saws, etc.
"The work of the arborist is not easy, often sun and rain, and there are snakes, insects, rats and ants in the trees. But when you get seriously engaged, you'll find it interesting. Li Guowen said.
To see a tree, Li Guowen will "look and smell and cut", observe the trunk, bark, leaves, and smell the smell of the tree. Some leaves are curly and withered, and the sap is less than normal, and may encounter pests and diseases.
"Trees are actually like people, they have tempers and personalities." Li Guowen said that spring is the most lively season for trees, and in winter, many trees become bare after falling leaves, which is more suitable for pruning. When tapping on the trunk, the young and healthy trees sound thick, and the old and sick trees are weak.
A qualified arborist must know at least two or three hundred species of trees. Only if you know enough about tree species do you know which trees are tough and which are weak and susceptible to fungus infection.
In the hong Kong arboriculture industry, there are arboriculture technicians, tree climbers, arboriculists and other types of work. Arborists and climbers are primarily responsible for pruning and treating trees, while arborists provide methods and recommendations for tree growth, including tree hazard assessment, health checks, treating tree wounds, and writing assessment reports.
Lee is a former civil servant in the Hong Kong Municipal Council and has many years of experience in tree management. In 2007, he became a registered arborist of the International Society of Arborist and began to take root in the tree art industry in Hong Kong.
After retiring, Lee founded the Hong Kong Dendrological Society and the Tree Care Company. He was approached to cut down trees, and after his assessment, he found that the trees were not potentially risky, so he pushed off the business of delivering them to the door. "I've been working with trees for over 20 years and treating them like friends."
Reconcile the relationship between the person and the tree
Arborist Li Guowen climbs a tree (photo taken on November 23). He said that many times to help trees to see a doctor, you have to climb up to find the cause, standing under the tree can not see anything. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gang/Photo
"If an arborist doesn't know how to climb trees, he can only be counted as half an arborist." He said that many times to help trees to see a doctor, you have to climb up to find the cause.
Li Guowen is also a professional tree climber. When he was a child, when his family was not paying attention, he often secretly climbed the longan and lychee trees in his orchard. Eight years ago, Li Guowen broke his tree climbing record by climbing an 80-meter-tall redwood tree in the United States.
"When I was young, I ran ten kilometers, swam four kilometers, and I could climb rocks." During the conversation, he moved a fifty or sixty-pound iron frame, picked up a piece of wood of more than ten pounds and placed it on the iron frame, ready to demonstrate the electric chain saw used to trim the branches.
In addition to treating trees, arborists also coordinate the relationship between people and trees. Some people complained that the roots of the trees had crowded the cement road, and some arborists went to the scene to check and found that it was not a problem with the trees. There are projects to dig the road, and the arborist wants the construction personnel to ensure that the trees on the road will not be harmed. Trees are planted on both sides of the road, and arborists recommend choosing trees with narrow crowns and tall trees to facilitate the passage of vehicles. Plant trees on the sidewalk, and the canopy should not be too low, otherwise pedestrians will hit their heads as they pass by.
Hong Kong initially did not have a unified standard for planting trees, many trees were planted too densely, and after the trees competed to grow, they became very thin and unhealthy because of insufficient space. "Tree management in Hong Kong has improved, but these issues still need to be addressed." He said.
Li Guowen remembers that in Shaluo Bay, in the northwest of Lantau Mountain, there was a 400-year-old camphor tree, and six adults held hands to hold the trunk, and he went to see the tree. In 2004, the Hong Kong SAR Government selected about 500 trees to be included in the Catalogue of Ancient Trees, many of which are 100-year-old.
In his opinion, the relationship between man and tree should be intimate.
Discover the beauty of the trees
Arborist Li Guowen was interviewed by reporters on November 23. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gang/Photo
In 2008, the management of trees in Hong Kong attracted social attention.
In August of that year, an old tree in Stanley collapsed and crushed a young woman to death. After the media report, there was an uproar in Hong Kong. Protests were organized to denounce the lack of tree management.
In 2010, the Development Bureau of the HKSAR Government established the Tree Management Office to coordinate tree management in various departments. However, tree management offices can only play a "coordinating" role and are not empowered to regulate tree management. There are still deficiencies in the arrangements for tree conservation in various government departments, and there are also differences in the division of labor in tree management.
There is no unified arborist registration system in Hong Kong. Many arborist certificates are issued by foreign dendrological societies, which require applicants to have experience in tree management. After getting the certificate, you must accumulate several years of work experience in order to "hold the certificate" and treat the tree.
"About half of the students who attend my course will join the arboriculture industry." Today, Lee has more labels on his body: Hong Kong Arboretum Society Course Instructor, Employee Retraining Board Arboriculture Course Tutor, Arboriculture and Horticulture Industry Training Advisory Committee Member.
In addition to the Hong Kong Arboriculture Society, the Employees Retraining Council, the Hong Kong Vocational Training Council, The Hong Kong Baptist University and other organisations and institutions have launched arboriculture-related courses to cultivate more professionals.
In 2016, the HKSAR Government established the Arboriculture and Horticulture Industry Training Advisory Committee to establish a set of industry standards for the arboriculture industry and to prepare for the introduction of a tree management registration system in the future.
In the 2019-2020 Budget, the HKSAR Government proposes to set up an "Urban Forestry Development Fund" of HK$200 million to encourage students to pursue arboriculture courses.
The reporter asked, how long will it take for Hong Kong's tree art industry to mature? Li Guowen said, at least ten years.
At the beginning of May this year, in front of the Murray Hotel on Central Cotton Road, a century-old tree festival fruit was set in full bloom, and the flowers fell with the wind, and the citizens stood in front of the ancient trees and made an exclamation sound.
"Beautiful!" This is an adjective commonly used by Li Guowen. The happiness of the arborist lies in guiding people to discover the beauty of the tree.
Source: Xinhua Net