Ziptrek is an incredible tourism attraction that sees tourists ziplining through the forest canopy high above Queenstown, taking in the spectacular views of Lake Whakatipu and The Remarkables as they do so. The highest tree platform is about ten metres off the ground.

As responsible tourism operators, the owners of Ziptrek want to manage their risk and conform to requirements and international best practice. International standards around high ropes tourism stipulate that operators should have their trees inspected by an arborist annually. Wherever you’re exposing members of the public to trees — particularly if you’re a commercial operator — you want to inspect trees on a regular basis to ensure no harm or injury is going to occur or that you’ve reduced the risk of it. We’ve been doing this for Ziptrek since 2021.

Our work with Ziptrek entails one of our arborists visiting the site and getting an understanding of the operation, including where visitors walk and hang out. The arborist then reviews the trees using visual tree assessment – when or if areas of risk are identified, our arborist will complete a more intense inspection. For example, if we detect some abnormalities, they might use our Picus Sonic Tomograph to understand the level of decay and the structural strength and integrity of the tree for a more detailed picture.

Once our arborist has visually assessed the trees and identified any areas of risk, they will map the relevant trees and input all data into our software. As well as being great for reporting, this also becomes a valuable record for us to track changes year upon year.

Our arborist then uses an internationally recognised risk assessment process we are trained and licenced in to create a risk report. This report provides recommendations and suggested actions, if any. 

Because this is a high consequence zone — being a popular and busy business with lots of members of the public visiting — the Ziptrek site has to be assessed regularly.

Talk to one of our tree experts.

If you’d like a tree risk assessment or report for your business, school or home, please get in touch.

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Golf courses are wonderful places to spend time at. They’re often pristine and great examples of nature, with their wide open spaces, manicured greens and towering trees. Trees are an important part of the landscape on a golf course — they influence the play but also the look of the environment. And who hasn’t been grateful for the shade of a tree on a hot day or for the shelter on a wet one!

The thing is, trees change. Beautiful old trees have the size and stature that can cause harm if there’s a failure, such as branches breaking or the tree itself falling. Not a risk you want when you have players wandering around your course, occasionally looking for shelter.

Pakuranga Golf Course wanted a risk management plan for the vegetation across their 6013m, 18-hole course, so we completed an assessment of all trees on the course and then developed a plan.

Their risk management plan outlines how employees can manage the on-going risk of their course, including a suggested risk tolerance and what to do at every level of risk, from completely safe to realised risk. The plan outlines in detail what actions to take, when to do them, and how to do them. 
We also teach on-the-ground staff what passive and visual tree inspection is so they can help manage risk by recognising it when they see it, such as after a storm or a new development in a tree trunk.

The trees’ data, photos and mapping are recorded on our digital software, as a reference point that allows us to track changes over time. 

This risk management plan became part of Pakuranga Golf Course’s overall H&S plan and shows the steps they’ve taken to mitigate risk.

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Please reach out if you’d like your own tree assessment and risk management plan.

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Since 2020, we have helped Fonterra manage their tree risk on their various properties.

Originally we were called in when they had a near-miss tree failure — they wanted to understand how to manage this risk across their properties and support farms going forward. Firstly, it was important to them that the people working on their farms were safe, and secondly, they wanted to avoid a tree failure impacting on their operations, such as falling on a building and rendering it unusable.

Arborlab worked with Fonterra to develop a vegetation risk management framework (VRMF). This framework spells out exactly how the business will manage tree risk on their properties. It outlines what they need to do, when they need to do it and how they need to do it, to successfully assess and recognise risk on an ongoing basis.

It includes a tolerance of risk and a risk framework to help them prioritise work, making sure the most risky jobs are dealt with first.

Using our software, each tree and its data, including a photo, is recorded, along with its current risk status. Risk status’ differ, depending on the location of the tree and the occupancy of the farm ie is it in an isolated spot or at the entrance of a busy working shed.

The software allows Fonterra staff to access their dashboard and live data at any time, so they can see on any given day what their risk levels are across all properties. The software notifies the relevant parties once risk hits unacceptable levels, for immediate attention and action – this is then logged on Fonterra’s own risk management register, helping them manage their resources and budget as well as risk.  

This framework has been in operation in the Fonterra business for four years and was nominated for an innovation and H&S management award.

Talk to one of our tree experts.

If you’d like a framework to manage tree risk at your business or school, we’d love to help.

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