In this series of articles, we will be sharing exclusive coverage from all aspects of the ARB Show 2023. 

ANOTHER stand drawing in arborists with its competitions and prizes was training specialist CTS Forestry and Arboriculture. As well as inviting attendees to guess how many glue sticks were used in the creation of his artwork LOLER Man, Chris Wyatt wanted them to guess the size of his log. They were then challenged to calculate worst case scenario peak forces with rigging.

He said: “We’ve had some guesses very close to the weight of the log and some massively underweight. The idea behind calculating peak forces and heavy weights was to raise awareness and get people to appreciate the weight of logs we deal with.

Forestry Journal:

"Making mistakes there is how equipment fails and people get injured. So hopefully, by taking that time to properly estimate the weight of the log you can better plan your rigging and select the right equipment to prevent accidents. 

“It has got people thinking and prompted some quite shocked responses when they’ve worked things out.”

He also seized the chance to start some early promotion for the next Big Rescue Event.

“It is a massive get-together, uniting around 100 qualified tree climbers for an aerial rescue refresher day led by City & Guilds assessors, with a big raffle held in aid of Warwickshire Air Ambulance," Chris said. "We raise awareness and put the focus on aerial rescues and refresher training, all while raising money for charity.  

“We’ve had a lot of people coming to the stand asking when it’s going to be and how they can get involved and, all being well, the Big Rescue Event will be back next year.”

Keep an eye across our channels for the full version of this interview and more in-depth coverage from arb's biggest event.