Arborist Seth Mischeski. Photo Susan Sandys.Twenty-seven-year-old Seth Mischeski of Ashburton has overcome his fear of heights as he fulfils his dream career of being an arborist.

And it is just as well, as he scales mammoth trunks and their untamed branches up to more than 30 metres above the ground.

“When I started, I hated heights,” he said.

But in those early days of his apprenticeship he found he began to get used to it, and he could get higher and higher as his tolerance grew.

“And once you are working up there, you don’t have time to think about it, you just have stuff to do,” Mischeski said.

At the same time, he believed it was good to have some degree of nervousness about being so high up, as this just made him all the more careful and made sure he took extra care for safety.

Mischeski is an arborist at Four Seasons Tree Care. He and colleague Sami Baker are currently gearing up for the South Island Regional Tree Climbing Competition at the Ashburton Domain tomorrow.

Tree climbing is a competitive domain within the arboriculture industry, and the events planned are set to test arborists’ skills.

They will include an aerial rescue event, where the climber ascends the tree to rescue an injured person, in the form of a dummy, as well as a work climb where a climber has to reach four different stations, and a speed climb where the climber has to get to the top and ring a bell as quickly as possible.

All climbers are harnessed.

The New Zealand Arboriculture Association holds four regional tree climbing competitions each year, with one in the South Island.

The top climbers from each event gain entry to the National Tree Climbing Championship.

At first both Mischeski and Baker were on the waiting list for the event, until recently news came through they could now compete.

It is the first time the competition has been held in Ashburton, and Mischeski said it would also be the first time he would be competing in a tree-climbing competition.

“It’s sort of rude not to attend an event in your home town, and it’s a good opportunity to meet other arborists and learn new skills,” he said.

“My goal is just to do it and have fun.”

He also thought it was great that such events could raise awareness of arboriculturalist careers, particularly with a strong demand in New Zealand and a shortage of trainees.

“There’s a lot of people you talk to and you say ‘I’m an arborist’, and they are like: ‘What’s that?’,” he said.

That had certainly been the case for him when he was younger.

Upon leaving Ashburton College he was undertaking an apprenticeship in horticulture at the Ashburton Domain, when he noticed the owner of Four Seasons, Lyall Jemmett, undertaking some tree work nearby.

“It’s the first time I had ever seen or heard about an arborist,” he said.

When he completed his horticulture apprenticeship he began at Four Seasons and has now added an apprenticeship in arboriculture to his CV.

For Mischeski, it is a dream job.

As he undertakes the tasks of trimming, removal and tree care, he gets a bird’s-eye view of the world each day.

By Susan Sandys  © The Ashburton Guardian - 11 September 2020