Go Climb a Tree
Starting a Recreational Tree Climbing Program
By Harv Teitelbaum
Directions: Journal of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, Spring 2014
“Go climb a tree.” Maybe you’ve heard this expression. It’s usually an indication that you’re bothering someone who wants to be left alone. But when someone tells me to go climb a tree, I might just say “thank you,” and go grab my gear!
I climb trees. I climb all kinds of trees, in all kinds of settings from city to wilderness, in all seasons. This is not the same kind of tree climbing many of us did as kids, the hand-over-hand “free climbing” that used to get us yelled at by our parents. No, Recreational Tree Climbing (RTC) is done with arborist ropes, saddles and helmets, using safe, easy-to-learn techniques developed over many years.
But I and the community of recreational/technical tree climbers around the world don’t just climb trees. Some of us take others up into trees (facilitate), while some even train others how to climb, how to facilitate climbs ,or how to themselves teach these skills to others (instruct).
I personally have conducted thousands of climbers up into the trees. Worldwide, over the approximately 30 years that RTC has been an organized activity, facilitators following guidelines developed by our community and standardized by umbrella groups such as the Global Organization of Tree Climbers (GOTC), have safely conducted about a half-million individual climbs up into the crowns of wonderful trees.
Your venue can be part of this wonderful activity! RTC as a program offering at nature centers, arboreta, and other outdoor experiential/environmental centers is growing across North America. It’s easy and straightforward to start programs, and there are several ways to do so.
But perhaps we should back up and ask the question “Why climb trees?” or “What’s so great about Tree Climbing?”
Humans have always been in trees. Our ancestors lived, ate, slept, and hunted from trees. Trees were where we found safety from predators. Trees were home. Researchers such as the evolutionary biologist Donald Perry find much evidence that we are not solely terrestrial, but “scansorial,” a species at home both on the ground and in the trees.
Many tree climbers experience that same sense of coming home, of feeling safe and secure, being at peace, once up in a tree. I’ve even had a few climbers become completely still and silent, overcome by the feelings they experience on high. Some are even in tears when, reluctantly, they have to come back down to earth. One woman, while up in “Gramps,” a 200-year old ponderosa at the Tree Climbing Colorado home grove, said this: “I don’t know how to explain it. How do you explain it? It’s… unbelievable! Life, that’s what you feel up here.”
Research done at Kyoto University in Japan has revealed clear correlations between tree climbing and human psychological health and well being. Even being around trees and forests was shown to be effective, even therapeutic, in maintaining emotional health. Simply walking through the forest in Japan, known as Shinrin Yoku or “forest bathing,” is a widespread practice known for improving ecopsychological health. And,… it’s just plain exhilarating, eye-opening, invigorating, exercising… fun!
RTC gets kids, youth, adults, couples, families off the ground and into the canopy, where they enjoy the views of the surrounding landscape, nature, wildlife, breezes, and more. Kids love it, and it helps get them moving and exercising, away from their screens and tablets, and together with their friends and families. Beyond that, RTC adds value to the center or facility, increasing visitor-ship and the constituency of those supporting nature facilities, trees, and forests.
There are two ways centers can incorporate RTC programs into their activities offerings. First, an outside RTC facilitator can be contacted and programs discussed. The outside facilitator will normally carry his/her own insurance and provide all necessary equipment. He or she will work with the center staff to select and prepare the most suitable tree(s), do effective marketing, and arrive at the best pricing/fee-sharing arrangements. As an example, many centers charge in the neighborhood of $30-35/climber for an approximate 2 1/2 hour climbing event, depending on youth/adult, in-district/out, etc., and share on either a 80/20 or 75/25 basis. Instead of percentage sharing, some facilitators simply ask for a flat fee, such as $25/climber, and then let the center determine prices for climbers as it sees fit.
In addition to regularly scheduled group climbs open to the public, birthday climbs and climbs for other special occasions and groups can be offered.
As an alternative, centers can choose to have their own personnel trained to become in-house RTC facilitators. Specialized training from an RTC Instructor is needed. (RTC facilitation is considered a specialized skill set; training in tree care or arboriculture alone is not comparable.) The instructor could be someone who is local, or one who is willing to travel to the center, or one to whom center personnel are willing to travel to be trained. The training normally includes two courses, a basic tree climbing course (even if personnel have other climbing experience) and a facilitators course.
The courses can often be taught concurrently, but there is typically a waiting period, normally six months, before the first publicly-offered climb could be conducted by the new facilitators. During the waiting period, the facilitator-trainee gains RTC climbing experience and expertise, keeping logs on a prescribed number of climbs, and sharing/discussing these with the instructor before proceeding.
The Global Organization of Tree Climbers (GOTC) provides an excellent map-database of recognized facilitators and instructors around the world. It can be accessed at: httpd://www.gotreeclimbing.org .
Does this sound appealing? It did to Jessica Jens, executive director of Riveredge Nature Center in Newburg, WI. She contacted me at Tree Climbing Colorado after reading an article about RTC programs, beginning a dialogue which eventually lead to five days of training staff from three nature organizations in Nov. 2013. These facilitator-trainees are excited for the arrival of this year’s spring and summer, so that they can begin their own tree climbing programs.
You can find out more about Recreational Tree Climbing programs by contacting the GOTC at info@gotreeclimbing.org or 303.877.1870, and by visiting our website, www.gotreeclimbing.org
I look forward to meeting up with you in the canopy some day!
Harv Teitelbaum is a GOTCrecognized tree climbing Facilitator and Master Instructor, and current and founding president of the Global Organization of Tree Climbers. When not among the trees, he is a Visiting Professor of Environmental Science at DeVry University. As a free-lance writer, Harv’s commentaries on social, environmental, and political issues have appeared in regional newspapers and online publications. He was Treasurer of the Colorado chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.