Pictures show Dr. Claus Mattheck in the IML booth (Seattle, WA) while ISA Trade show attendees lined up to get his autograph put into the new Pauli book!

Some thoughts about Claus Mattheck's "Tree Mechanics"-workshop in Seattle:

Because this was the world wide first workshop based on the new Pauli-book it was also a test. Can an arborist willing to learn but without special mechanical pre-education get this mechanical basics and some new and tricky applications? It was a great experience for Claus Mattheck - confirmed also by some personal discussions in the pub - THEY CAN, THEY DID IT! Claus Mattheck believes that with this workshop a new quality of arboriculture is started, which will be able to think more quantitative and have a better understandig of the mechanical terms, which rule the trees mechanical design and SAFETY.

Claus Mattheck warned not to use the formulaes for consulting jobs before completely understanding it and the limitations related. A tree will never be subject of theoretical description like an engine. Too much local variation of shape and material and missing load data are the limitations. Tree mechanics will always have the character of a rough assessment to get numbers. But even this is a great step forward ! Even ignoring the formulaes in a first step reading the Pauli-book will improve jour knowledge in tree mechanics. You are dealing with many tons of load in a highly optimised design - which nonetheless has weak spots - achilles heels - inside !

To know this and to regard this can be a chance for an arborist who knows about Shigo's work (Also Claus Mattheck learned a lot from his books!) but now also studies mechanics. This way they can make a step forward to become a mechanically educated arborist - a new profession which might be called a TREE ENGINEER one day!

Claus Mattheck knows from so many personal conversations with thousands of arborists world-wide, that most of them have a perfect mechanical feeling. Why not to develop this into a very good mechanical undestanding based on training.

The book "Tree mechanics-explained with sensitive words by Pauli the bear" ist an open door guiding the arborist willing to learn into the wonderful world of MECHANICS applied to a wonderful creature - the TREE - OUR FRIEND.