Norfolk-based woman in arb Maisie Slater

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
I grew up in a rural Norfolk cottage, surrounded by woodland. My siblings and I spent our childhood climbing trees and making dens in the woods. My dad was a forestry contractor, so we’d spend weekends helping with firewood and looking at jobs. I spent many hours with him, visiting wood yards and delivering firewood. Forestry and trees were such a massive part of my childhood; it’s not surprising that I ended up in this job. I had kids very young and now have three boys, who play in the same woods that I grew up in. They’re equally at home in the woods and hopefully one day, they will join my brother and I in the family business Slater Tree Care.

WHAT DOES YOUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK INVOLVE?
I mainly work as a groundie at the moment, and often with my brother, Monty, in the family business. I also do some work for another local tree surgeon. I’m learning to climb and now take on some climbing jobs. I love the adrenaline rush of rigging large branches and working out the best way to bring a large tree into a small drop zone. I also do some felling, drag brash, run the chipper and do some hedge cutting. I’m currently working on all sorts of tree work around our local area; I love the variety, from complicated removals of mature trees, to hedge cutting, pruning, raising and limb removal.

READ MORE: Women in Arb: George Tearne

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PURSUE A CAREER IN ARBORICULTURE? HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?
My dad, Adrian Slater, unexpectedly passed away last year. I was working nights in a care home and found it so mentally draining and wasn’t enjoying it. It made me realise that life is too short to do a job you don’t enjoy. I’d done some work with him on big jobs in the past and loved it. My brother, Monty, is a fully qualified arborist and they were both working in the family tree care business. We wanted to keep the business running after Dad died, so Monty taught me how to use a chainsaw and lent me some old boots and chainsaw trousers and I’ve never looked back. I’ve learned on the job – the headsets came in very handy for communicating!

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE OF ARB WORK?
My first experience was a large spruce tree removal, close to a house, that I did with my dad and brother. They needed an extra pair of hands (Dad was quite worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle it, which made me work twice as hard and he ended up giving me a tip). I dragged brash and fed the chipper; the sense of accomplishment at the end of the job was amazing. I’d never slept so soundly as that night! 

WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU'VE LEARNED DURING YOUR TIME IN THE INDUSTRY?
To just enjoy it. The good days always make up for the bad days – when you’re dragging a never-ending conifer in the pouring rain by the truck’s headlights, just remember last week’s finish when you got to the pub by 1pm. Also, having a positive attitude is so important – you can drag down the whole team if you’re in a bad mood. Always ask questions – no question is too stupid; it’s the best way that I’ve found to learn. Just remember, no one’s going to get annoyed with you for asking questions, but they will if you act like you know everything, and then get it wrong.

WHAT’S YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT IN THE INDUSTRY?
It’s got to be my first climbing job. I was taking down a dying oak tree, in a campsite. I successfully felled the big top out – it had to be the best feeling in the world. I know my dad would be so proud of me – that I’ve followed in his footsteps and found such happiness in the work.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE OF BEING A WOMAN IN A MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRY?
For most of the time, it’s been good. I’ve never had an issue with the men I work with – they treat me exactly the same as anyone else in the team. I take on the same workload as the men, and I don’t think that being a woman has any bearing on that. I’ve had the odd comments from customers, calling me the ‘little helper’ and other comments along those lines. I love being able to prove them wrong when they see me working. The older generation are often shocked that a woman can work in this industry, but I get some lovely comments about how good it is that women are able to work in a traditionally male-dominated role.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ENCOURAGE MORE WOMEN INTO THE SECTOR?
More women need to know that this is a career option and that they can do it! That’s why things like Instagram are so important. It normalises women working in arb and shows how brilliant the job is. Don’t assume that you can’t physically carry out the work and that men wouldn’t treat you as an equal – that is not my experience in the sector.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING THE SECTOR AT THE MOMENT, IN YOUR VIEW?
The biggest challenge is how some customers don’t see the complexity and skilled nature of arborists’ work, which leads to an underappreciation of the work we do. This often leads to some customers undervaluing high-quality tree work and getting underqualified ‘tree surgeons’ to carry out substandard work. This often leads to irreversible damage. Since learning more about arboriculture, I’ve definitely started noticing a lot of poor workmanship that the customer almost certainly thought was fine but is clearly going to lead to problems in the future.

HOW IMPORTANT IS A GOOD WORK-LIFE BALANCE WHEN WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY?
It’s so important. Being a mother of three young boys, you can’t just live to work. I don’t want to miss them growing up. I love having them around when we’re working in the yard; my youngest is three and now completely obsessed with chainsaws! Being overworked and tired means accidents are more likely to happen and also, it’s easy to get frustrated by small things.

ANY PARTICULAR AMBITIONS YOU ARE LOOKING TO ACHIEVE IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
I’m working towards my Certificate in Tree Climbing and Aerial Rescue, as well as working on improving my climbing ability. It’s something I’d really like to do more of.

Follow Maisie on Instagram: @maisieslater