Arborist

(Paid Opportunities) Return to Paid Opportunities

Compensation: $67,080 per year

Nearly 13 years into BBP’s existence, the need for a dedicated arborist role has become greater by the year. In the world of Arboriculture, it is a rare yet ideal opportunity to work alongside thousands of young trees, cultivating and influencing their long-term trajectory, to maintain an overstory that is functional as habitat and safe for all visitors of the park. Without a dedicated role, continual challenges have presented themselves annually in terms of all park trees receiving the most basic levels of care, developing consistent and well-formatted documentation of diagnosis & approaches utilized, as well as implementation of multi-year plans for all park specimens.

Additionally, full-time gardeners across the park have limited bandwidth, varying skillsets, and physical ability to perform moderate arboricultural practices within their own zone and rely on the support of a few select gardeners to execute such work.

Overview: The arborist role at Brooklyn Bridge Park is the primary role responsible for the care of the park’s trees, including some multi-stem trees and large shrubs. The Arborist will carry out work that will assure the long-term health and stability of all park trees, keeping both public safety and high ecological value of the landscape as top objectives. This role will establish, or evaluate and reestablish, the history and long-term performance goals of each species and specimen throughout the park through inspections and collaborative plans with Horticulture Leadership and Gardeners. The Arborist will keep records with Cartegraph, a GIS-based software. This role will directly report to the Deputy Director of Horticulture and will work alongside the park Horticulturist, Horticulture Supervisors, and Gardeners to establish an efficient and safe workflow to meet all park arboricultural needs. At large, this role will demonstrate the ability to reduce risk and hazards to patrons, park property, and park wildlife. The ideal candidate has experience with or interest in continuing and developing habitat creation practices using holistic, site-specific tree care approaches that keep the ecology of the park, the city, and the region in mind.

Responsibilities/Duties

Create high-quality tree care plans using organic approaches and IPM strategies that ensure thriving long-term canopies in the park.
Collaborate with Gardeners and the Horticulture leadership team to determine the needs of trees and large shrubs in the face of successional changes in garden beds.
Identify woody plant pests and pathogens and report them to the Horticulturist.
Assist with sample collections for lab testing.
Record observations and action plans for pests and diseases in Cartegraph.
Catalogue lab testing results and recommendations to resolve pest and disease issues.
Research and develop plans and programs regarding professional forestry policies, practices, and procedures.
Year-round tree pruning to remove compromised, dead, dying, or diseased tree material.
Assist in the maintenance of large-scale ornamental hedges when needed.
Execute structural pruning of young trees to produce a natural form and ensure tree longevity.
Develop multi-year plans and operations for all park trees in collaboration with Horticulture leadership.
Assess and schedule work to be done for felling, removal, and chipping of dead trees or failing trees.
Perform tree climbing, groundwork, and aerial lift duties.
Maintain tree chipping equipment with the support of the facilities department.
Perform detailed maintenance of all specialized equipment related to arboricultural responsibilities such as chainsaws, climbing gear, safety equipment, etc.
Develop a risk assessment plan for compromised trees.
Installation of braces and cables as needed to provide greater safety thresholds as high-level risk and target values become present.
Utilize rigging effectively to reduce disruption to park operations.
Identify and maintain permanent tree specimens throughout the park.
Identify and gradually remove temporary specimens to maintain the vigor of permanent trees.
Maintain balance in tree canopies to support understory plants.
Perform inspections and upkeep of all arboriculture equipment.
Protecting and representing the Park in matters of liability with respect to potential and actual tree failures. • Follow all safety procedures defined by ANSI -A300 Tree Climbers Standards.

Qualifications/Requirements

ISA certified arborist.
Minimum 1-2 years climbing experience.
Minimum 3 years tree care experience.
Thorough understanding of tree and shrub health care and tree physiology.
Competent with data entry and GIS software.
Knowledge of wildlife habitat or strong interest in learning.
Excellent communication, record-keeping, and organization skills.
Strong collaboration skills.
Self-starting individual able to work independently.
Eagerness to share knowledge and information with others.
Creative, flexible, adaptable individual.
Certificate or degree in Arboriculture, Biology, or related studies preferred.
OSHA 30 Certified preferred.
1-2 years’ experience with rigging & cabling preferred.
Experience with training others in both classroom & field settings preferred.

Additional Information

Benefits (Other company benefits provided in addition to the following)

403B (retirement plan)
Pension (company funded retirement)
Paid vacation time (up to 25 days)
Sick days (up to 9)
Paid holidays/Float days (15 days annually)
FMLA and other paid leaves (based on eligibility)
Tuition and professional development reimbursement
Medical, dental, vision, Healthcare FSA, Dependent FSA, Commuter Benefits, Life and Long term disability insurance.
BBP vendor discounts at restaurants, food market and other eateries.
Other corporate discounts on movie tickets, theme parks, and so much more!

Additional Information

Valid driver’s license required
NYC residency required
High school diploma or equivalent preferred.
Ability to work overtime, weekends, and holidays as needed.

Contact Information

Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation
Contact Name: Rashid Poulson
Email: rpoulson@bbp.nyc