Georgia arborists competition highlights industry skills, safety

Whether they are inspecting trees in poor health or climbing to saw down a limb above a home, arborists are everywhere in Atlanta, a city with the highest percentage of overall urban tree canopy in the nation.

This month, the Georgia Arborist Association held its annual Trees Unite Us conference and tree climbing championship in Decatur. The conference and competition bring together arborists from all over the state and country to test their mettle against one another in challenges and promote training and professionalism within the industry. 

Georgia arborist Jon Carlson competed in the masters’ challenge, the contest’s final round that brings together all the skills tested during the weekend. He said the competition is also great for raising awareness about the industry because many people don’t know what arborists do or that there’s more than one type of arborist.