Ian McDermott

Summary Ian McDermott joins Dwayne and Tony for a wide-ranging conversation about trees, arboriculture history, education, humor, and the human side of working in and around forests. The episode moves from his personal path into tree work to bigger reflections on safety, training, and how trees shape culture, religion, and community. Timestamps 00:00 - Welcome to the Human Forestry Podcast and introduction of Ian McDermott 01:11 - Retirement on the Isle of Man and returning to work 02:34 - First connections to trees through childhood woods and The Forest Ranger 03:44 - Olive harvesting in Crete and ancient trees 04:24 - Muir Woods and the emotional power of giant trees 04:54 - Growing up around Wally Woods and playing in the woods 07:03 - Isle of Man heritage, Viking identity, and tree symbolism 08:27 - Yggdrasil and trees of life in religion 09:05 - Wind, storms, and the loss of trees on the Isle of Man 10:07 - Traditional olive harvest methods and Ian’s affinity for olive trees 12:14 - From teaching ambition to park department work and horticulture training 14:02 - Early arboriculture education, branch walking, and old gear 16:43 - The first arboriculture book and how pruning ideas have changed 18:00 - Old pruning experiments, tree wounds, and cauterizing cuts 19:57 - Fire seasons, arson, and the role of forest management 21:02 - Tree paint, wound dressing, and old job-site habits 25:35 - Shigo, flush cuts, and why old traditions were challenged 27:33 - Working with Alex Shigo and Judy and the impact of his teaching 28:12 - The decline of arboriculture education in the UK 31:21 - Teaching as stimulation, edutainment, and keeping energy up 33:33 - Humor, religion, and the perspective joke about a penguin and a nun 36:42 - Trees in major religions and Ian’s Christmas talk on the subject 40:48 - From tree work into crew management and the ISA connection 42:14 - The famous “it’s a dog turd” misdiagnosis at a TRACK panel event 45:38 - Overthinking tree work and missing the simplest solution 46:39 - Taking time to observe the whole site before acting 47:40 - Mindfulness, response, and the human condition in tree work 49:03 - Aging, physical changes, and the darker jokes that come with experience 53:45 - Managing municipal tree crews and the importance of safety 54:14 - The Arbormaster tour and the spread of new equipment ideas 55:37 - Micro pulleys, slack tenders, and the purple pulley moment 58:08 - Port-a-wrap history, fair leads, and the loss of context 59:24 - Hitch climber systems and the evolution of climbing hardware 62:46 - The 1998 Birmingham conference and the first ISA event outside North America 63:57 - Fatality statistics, neighboring jobs, and why data can mislead 66:34 - One small mistake can end a career in arboriculture 67:36 - Aging climbers, lost strength, and changing perspective 68:08 - Body thrusting, footlocking, and the risk of losing basic technique 71:20 - Joe Hedger’s first footlock and breaking the world record 72:49 - Pete Donzelli, barefoot practice, and climbing balance 73:55 - German climbers and the early competition era in the UK 75:35 - The challenge of keeping up with all the changes in arboriculture 77:37 - Ian’s answer on the human forest and why volunteers matter most 78:22 - Birmingham Tree People and the idea that trees and people cannot be separated 80:08 - Town planning, canopy cover, and making cities livable 81:04 - Trees as a solution to air pollution and urban well-being 82:38 - Signed copies of Shigo’s books and the pithy points tradition 85:27 - Pithy point 666 and humic acids slowing decomposition in soils 86:23 - Tree pithy picture point 9 and autumn canopy color 86:51 - Trees, shade, and humans seeing so many shades of green 87:52 - The chemistry of chlorophyll and the link between people and trees 88:23 - Closing reflections on humor, conversation, Thanks to our monthly supporters Brian Maxson Tim Bushnell Catelyst11 Trees&lps Dylan Tobe Peter LaRue Scott Andrew Hordyk Michael Tain Dwayne Sr. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★