Florida Chapter Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ)

Vision statement

Goal

What this program does

The new paradigm shifts the decision of which branches to prune from the production arborist to an informed prescriber. It establishes a protocol resulting in consistency between the arborist preparing the prescription and the production arborist. This credential teaches you how to prescribe and perform pruning in accordance with industry standards and ISA’s BMP supported by the latest research and experience.

Why should I get this qualification?

Who should get this qualification?

Target audience: Producers and Prescribers

Two training tracks are offered

Day 1 – Producers – ISA certification is not a prerequisite.

Producers are finished with the training at the end of day one, and each receives a certificate of completion. There is no exam.

Day 1, 2 and 3 – Prescribers – Must be an ISA Certified Arborist.

The second and third day of training focus on preparing pruning prescriptions using many examples which include outdoor exercises. This is an interactive program with many activities. There is a review and a multiple-choice exam on the third day. Those passing the exam become PPQ qualified.

Manual

Agenda

Day 1: Producers and Prescribers in the same class

Introduction with definitions

Tree Architecture

Response to Pruning Cuts

Guiding Urban-compatible Tree Architecture (pruning)

Day 2: Prescribers only

Prescription Approach to Pruning

Preparing Prescriptions

Outdoor Prescription Exercises and Discussion

Mature Trees and Palms

Day 3 (half day): Prescribers only

Review

Exam

Qualified Instructors who have an * in front of their name are open to travel as needed.

Overview

The PPQ provides the knowledge, research, and tools (prescriptions) necessary to remove less living tissue, create a common language, and establish protocol resulting in consistency between the Prescriber and Producer. The use of prescriptive pruning enables the Prescriber to write a pruning prescription to guide the Producer to achieve the objectives. The Producer implements the prescription by practicing proper pruning and minimizing impacts which creates safer, stronger, healthier trees.

Unlike many of the texts, publications, and pruning seminars, this training event is a practical guide for strategic planning, specifying, and implementing a proper pruning approach. It incorporates consistency with the standards and BMPs in collaboration with current research and practice. The PPQ is the culmination of not only decades of Dr. Gilman’s research and the experience of many arborists, but also the commitment of the Prescription Pruning Qualification Committee (Committee) who are passionate about making our trees and industry better. For over two years, this Committee has deliberated over the best methodology for training, testing, and applying this program.

This practical, applied program guides arborists through the process of strategically planning, specifying, and implementing an objective-based pruning approach. It will make you a better arborist by showing you how to incorporate industry standards and ISA BMPs with current research and practice. The PPQ is the culmination of the commitment of the Florida Chapter ISA Pruning Credential Committee who are passionate about making trees more compatible with urban and suburban environments.

We are hopeful this pruning credential will create a major paradigm shift where no tree or group of trees are pruned without a prescription. Watch for upcoming classes in different locations throughout the state. The Florida Chapter would like to thank the following individuals for their participation on the Committee and dedication to this program.

Development committee

Subject Matter Expert and Chair of the Credential Committee
Edward F. Gilman, PhD
professor emeritus
University of Florida

Consulting Arborist Representative
Norm Easey
CEO emeritus Florida Chapter ISA Committee

Chapter Representative
Lori Ballard
Executive Director
Florida Chapter ISA

Small Production Company
Rob Calley
President
Backridge Tree Service, Inc.

Large Production Company
Jonathan Frank

Municipal Consultant
Heather Shields
City of Naples

Educator
Dr. Ryan Klein, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Florida

Component Executive Representative
Lindsey Purcell, MS
Lp Consultant Group

Dr. Ed Gilman teaching PPQ Photo credit: Rhonda Wood

Class
Schedule

Request a Class for your organization

QUALIFIED INSTRUCTORS PRESCRIBER

QUALIFIED INSTRUCTORS PRODUCER

Sample Prescription

PPQ
Holders

Class Schedule

One Day - Producers Class

New England Chapter ISA

Southern Chapter ISA

Florida Chapter ISA

Western Chapter ISA

Texas Chapter ISA

Three Day - Prescriber Class

New England Chapter ISA

Southern Chapter ISA

Florida Chapter ISA

Western Chapter ISA

Texas Chapter ISA

One Day Special Invite Event

Florida Chapter ISA

Request a Class for Your Organization

Qualified Instructors - Prescriber

Qualified Instructors who have an * in front of their name are open to travel as needed.

*Rob Calley

President
Backridge Tree Service, Inc.

*Jonathan S. Frank

PPQ Committee
Representative
Consulting Arborist

*Edward F. Gilman, PhD

Principal, Wood Architecture Inc.
professor emeritus
University of Florida

*Dr. Ryan Klein, PhD

Assistant Professor
University of Florida IFAS

*Lindsey Purcell, MS

Consulting Arborist
Lp Consulting Group

Qualified Instructors - Producer

Qualified Instructors who have an * in front of their name are open to travel as needed.

*Rob Calley

Backridge Tree Service, Inc.
President

*Jonathan S. Frank

PPQ Committee Representative
Consulting Arborist

*Nick Markley

Independent Contractor

*Lindsey Purcell, MS

Lp Consulting Group
Consulting Arborist

*Carson Smith

O'Neil's Tree Service

*Kris Stultz

Tri-State Tree Services

Sample Prescription

Pruning interval: 2 years
Pruning system: natural
Concerns: large branches with inclusions; owners want to preserve the tree and increase life span
Objectives: reduce risk by reducing length of the largest 3 live branches; remove dead branches
Branches to prune: make (20-25) 2” diameter reduction cuts at the end of the 3 largest live branches; remove dead branches >1” diameter
Limitations: remove no live branches from the leader; remove no live branches from 1^st order (scaffold) branches

Current Prescription Pruning Qualification Holders

Florida

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Deleware

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Ilinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jeresy

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennslyvania

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont

Virginia

Wyoming

Florida

Will Abbott
Ben Adams
William Akins
Claudia Alzate
Jason Anderson
Chris Anuszkiewicz
Ruben Asencio
Erica Astrove
Lori Ballard
Charles Barker
Richard Barocas
James Barringer
Chad Bates
Elizabeth Baylis
Dennis Bell
Joseph Berkowitz
Thad Bielecki
Richard Blaha
Jake Bolden
Michael Bollon
James Bowles
Steven Braden
David Bradford
Wyatt Brauer
David Brayboy
Shannon Brewer
Alex Brown
Brandon Brown
Edgar Brown
Steven Brown
Mark Brumet
Dewey Bullock
John Burns
Bradley Bushor
Mariellen Calabro
Rob Calley
Clayton Cantley
Peter Capoccia
Charles Carr
Angela Carroll
Amber Carson
Augusto Carvajal
Loren Castillo
Robert Castleberry
Donna Castro
John Catalo
James Caudell
Theresa Chormanski
Amber C. Clark
Lee Claxton
Patrick Clifford
Nestor Colchin
Paola Colina
Wade Collum
Justin Combs
Chris Comer
Craig Conaster
Jason Conner
Jacob Connolly
Dustin Cook
Sierra Cook
Kevin Coppolla
Carlson Cox
Kericke Cox
John Crawford
Sean Creedon
John Cross
Mike Cross
Rodger Crouse
Chase Dalton
Mark Dalton
Thomas Danks
Steven Davis
Jaime Deery
Debra Demarco
Kit Dennis
Giuseppe Di Giacinto
Christopher DiFilippi
Doug Doll
Thomas Donovan
Brendan Duffey
Candice Duffey
Sheila Dunning
John Durden
Doug Durling
Norm Easey
Joshua Easley
Timothy Ebersole
Mary Edwards
Joshua Eibeschitz
Jason Ellington
Garry Emery
Sebastian Evans
Christopher Evers
Nicholas Farina
Anthony Ferrer
Scott Fey
Marion “Bo” Ford
Dennis Forgione
Angel Forrest
Christopher Forrest
William Fowler
Jonathan Frank
Sean Frasl
John Fuller
Kelly Gallo
Eugene Gehring
Johnathan Giaquinta
Jacob Gilliam
Dr. Ed Gilman
Jimmy Girsales
Stephen Glass
Alex Glasscock
Terence Glynn
John Godshall
Spencer Gonzales
Randy Gonzalez
Santos Gonzalez
John Gorham
Brian Gould
Steven Grant
Chad Gregg
Neil Greishaw
Christian Guarina
Omayra Guedes
Bryan Guerra
Jamielyn Hagyari
Thomas Hall
Patrick Hannah
Greg Hatwig
Jessy Havrilesko
Gared Henson
Etienne Hernandez-Perez
Jorden Hinrichsen
Jennifer Hitchcock
R. Alan Holbrook
Jessica Hong
Pam Houmere
C. Way Hoyt
Richard Hubbell
Kevin Hunt
Erin Hurd
Kevin Hurst
Chris Jackson
Peter James
Trevor Jessup
Charles Johnson
Daryl Johnson
Kenneth Johnston
Trea Jones
Rick Joyce
Kacy Keeffe
Colin Kelly
John King
Dr. Ryan Klein
Brian Knox
Sebastian Koerber
Benjamin Koubek
Austin Kreutzfeld
Doug LaFortune
Ronald Lamneck
Joshua Lange
Mark Lange
David Lantow
Michele Laskowski
December Lauretano-Haines
Joel Leach
Jack Leake
Richard Leanos
Cal Leggett
Janine Lester
Daniel Lewis
Dale Linder
Paul Lloyd-Jones
Sean Lyons
Marti Machado
Peggy Machin
Wesley Maks
Jason Maldonado
Condredge Mallory
Devon Marchinko
Shane Martin
Maidy Martinez-Ravelo
Halli Matas
Henrique Mayer
James McCann
Michael McCoy
Forrest McCullough
Matthew McDermott
Corey McDonough
Josh McFadden
Brian McIntire
Aaron McKamey
Kelly McPherson
John Meade
Kenia Medina
Mike Mejia
Matthew Melvin
Mark Merritt
Mark Miller
Luis Moreno
Joshua Nakash
Carolyn Nelson
Travis Newell
Mary Niehaus
Simon Nunez
Apollo O’Neil
Gonzalo Ocampo
Quitisha Oguntoyinbo-Rashad
Mike Orfanedes
Ian Orlikoff
Jesse Osgood
Ira Padgett
Adam Painter
Jeff Patrick
Caleb Paulson
Fernando Pereira
Fabian Perez
Marco Perez-Alvarez
Louis Perry
Richard Peterika
Matthew Pippin
James Plowman
Daniel Pompi
James Potts
Jon Powers
Jarod Prentice
Michael Provencher
Lindsey Purcell
Mario Ramos
Brandi Rangos
Kristopher Ratliff
Todd Reich
Jason Richards
David J. Rivera
Jorge Rivera
Steven Rivera
Raul Robayna
David Roberts
John Roberts
Kirk Robertson
Robert Robicheau
Justin Rogers
Andrew Roman
Christopher Roush
Leonard Royster
Leigh Ryser
Robert Sackett
Joe Samnik
Kevin Schiavone
Kevin Schiavone Jr
Camille Schillizzi
Eric Scovack
David T. Scrambling
Alan Shauck
Jason Shaw
Horace Shelton
Heather Shields
Scott Shultz
Ron Simpson
Scott Slovinac
Randy Small
Tom Smiley
Carson Smith
Matt D. Smith
Shawn Smith
John Snow
Keith Sprague
Josh Stafford
Mark Steinberg
Austin Stidham
Nathan Stoner
Christopher Stratman
Cary Strukel
Kris Stultz
Eric Stutzman
Austin Sutt
John Sutton
Francois Tasse
Michael Taulman
John Tedder
Chuck Theurer
Frank Thibodeaux
Armani Thomas
Kyle Thornton
Nicholas Tindell
Perry Tollman
LauraTooley
Johnny Turvin
Jordan Upcavage
Laura Ureta
Marcos Urra
Gustavo Valdes
David Vandergriff
Clifford Vann
Yoandris Vazquez Pupo
Joseph Vibonese
Mike Vlcek
Brian Voelker
Tim Walters
Paul Warinner
Todd Warren
Ben Wasielewski
James (JAWS)Weaver
Erik Webster
Alexis Wells
Greg White
Marc White
Jeremy Wilhelm
Edward Wilkerson
Sebastian Williams
Wayne Williams
Bryan Wilson
Cory Wilson
Kevin Wilson
Ian Wogan
Joanathan Wolfson
Gary Worthington
Chris Wright
Randy Wright
Brett Youngster
Ralph Zirzow

Alabama

Billy Allen
Matthew Burke
William McBride
Peter Toler

Arizona

Denice Britton
Roy Maxey
Justin Kent
Pedro Perez
Frank Saldana
Joshua Sullivan
Brian Vizcaino

Arkansas

Adam Day
Jeremy Jones
Jimmy King
Brian Pope

California

Isaias Acevedo
Aero Acton
Ross Anderson
Joseph Anaya
Evan Armstrong
Michael Baefsky
Richard Bamlet
Seth Beam
David Beckham
Jose Bedoya
Kyrie Bennett
Nathan Berner
Pedro Berry
David Bettencourt
Alfredo David Bohacec
Nicholas Bolen
Jared Borba
Joseph Borden
Eliott Bouquet
Anderson Bouton
Trevor Bristle
Johnathan Brody
Thomas Browning
Christopher Campbell
Andrew Carmichael
Jodi Carlson
Kevin Carlson
Luis Casas
Domenico Castiglioni
David Chavez
Edward Clements
Alyssa Collins
Joe Cooper
Justin Coppola
Dendro Corvid
David Cragoe
Adam Daniel
Eumie Davis
Sean Davis
Julie De Barros
Michael del Campo
Trent Delk
Matthew Devine
Joesph Dodd
Joshua Dokter
Wister Dorta
Kyle Dowling
Christian Dubray
Paul A. Dubois
Stephen Duffy
Daniel Dunn
Gulliver Erikson
Raquel Falco
Nathan Finnell
Ben Fisher
Abraham Gallegos Gonzalez
Johnathan Gallivan
Dennis Gaudenti
Josh Gevertz
Joshua Goode
Fernando Guzman
Ira Hawkins
Matt Hebert
Stephen Hegedus
Manuel Hernandez
Martin Heynen
Samantha Hill
Lee Hoffmann
Raven Hudson
Anthony Hunt
Michael Inaba
Julio Jacobo
Dennis Jones
Kevin Kane
Brandon Keck
Kelly Kerins
Tyler Kern
R. Cory Kinley
Kenneth Knight
John Lake
Rebecca Latta
Matthew Long
Kenneth Loomis
Deon Maes
Alexander Magallanes
Jessica McCormick
Brian McGovern
Gregory MacDonald
Philip Marino
Steve Marshall
Patrick McMabell
Elizabeth Mendoza
Edwin Meza Ramirez
Humberto Mojica
Bradley Molzahn
Jesus Munoz Jr.
Charles Murphy
Jesus Morales
James Morgan
Jamie Mynatt
Michael Neumann
Fleur Nooyen
Sarah Norris
Ann Northrup
Aimee Nunez
Angel Nunez
Lucy O’Leary
Sean O'Neil
Mitchell Owens
Keith Park
Michael Parker
Brian Peck
Shaun Peterson
Jessica Petrini
Ana Pfleeger
Makayla Pierson
Stephen Pree
Joseph Prime
Peter Quintanilla
Andrew Rex
Matthew Ribarich
Kenneth Rodriguez
Mark Roloff
Erick Roman
Tammy Rominger
Chris Ruvalcaba
Sarah Santee
Erick Saldivar
Merlin Schlumberger
Curtis Short
Lisa Smith
Yvan Smith
Klayton Soucy
Jeffery Strader
John Strobel
Richard Ray Tanner Brown
Tyler Thomson
Ty Teissere
Dawn True
Delfino Vian
Otis Walker
Jessica Weber
Jennifer West
Glenn Whitlock-Reeve
Brandon Williamson
Rhonda Wood
Tyler Woodbury
Dennis Yniguez
Tristan You
Drew Zwart

Colorado

Paige Allison
Viktoria Barr
Barr Bellow
Michael Benton
Ted Berg
Brodie Bittner
Alicia Blandin
David Boswell
Paul Cancik
Geoffrey Carpenter
Carpenter Cooper
Ryan Decker
Jonathan Dees
Tyler Desmet
Fabio Grant
Connor Grovenor
Erik Gustafson
Shiloh Hatcher
Douglas Hewitt
Evan Howard
Mark James
Eric Jaskuta
James I. Johnson
Jeremy Kalbus
Andrew Keats
Lucas Killoran
Anna Knotts
Benjamin Kreminski
Jason Kruegel
David Leinbach
Caleb Leland
Michael MacLean
Matthew Maile
Matthew Martin
Claude Masson
Matthew Mayo
Carl Meinecke
John Mitchell
Michael Neff
Caleb Palmer
Thomas Palmer
Joshua Perry
Bret Pilkington
Malesa Plumley
Benjamin Rickenbacker
Stuart Rienhoff
Bobby Savage
Lane Schmidt
Taylor Schmidt
John Sepulveda
Allison Serafin Steere
Brian Sereduke
Dennis Shea
Mary Tiernan
Kali Vansteel
Tanner Weis
Richard Wilson
Grant Winter
Ernest Wintergerst
Brian Wise
Alexander Zimmerman

Connecticut

Patrick Blasco
Scott Crickmore
Frankie Diaz
Megan Joseph
William Nelson
John Nestro
Carter Peck
Emmett Shutts
Benjamin Sykas

Deleware

Michael Holleran

Georgia

Cesar Sesmas

Hawaii

Deva Braden
Michael Kraus
Walt Warriner

Idaho

Ezekiel Willard

Ilinois

Jared Arnold
Samuel Cox
Charlie Eure
Philip Fasteson
Nicole Fennell
Calvin Ford
Nicholas Greenwood
Sarah Helding
Eric Hendrickson
Colton Hoffman
Charles Hoover
Andrew Hynes
Thomas Iannetti
Grant Jones
Bryan Kotwica
Matthew Le
Jason Miesbauer
Daniel Miraval
Jennifer Morgan
Willard Nash
Jesse Raap
Andrew Ranney
Chad Rigsby
Frederick Roewer
Matthias Scheidler
Aaron Schulz
Alan Seal
Greg Soltwisch
Jeremiah Spiwak
Patrick Tunney
Ryan Zeuske

Indiana

Jeremy Addleman
Gabriel Bingaman
Heath Callahan
David Carpenter
Scott Clingerman
Reginald Copes
Bradford Elliott
Evan Elsbury
David Elsbury
Peter Fife
Chris Flanagan
Jennifer Gardiner
Todd Gillian
Gabriel Gluesenkamp
Ira Goldfarb
Chris Guidry
Brandon Hall
Matt Hogarth
Seth Inamn
Todd Kearney
Ralph Koons
Anthony Ley
Samuel Martinez III
Tess Mondello
Ashley Mulis
John Muller
Cody Oswalt
David Patz
Paul Pinco
Keegan Price
Michael Rogers
Andrew Shultz
Mark Stephens
Jeffery Sutton
Koby Tavel
Brent Thompson
Sean Tomei
Salvador Torres
Daniel Vernon

Iowa

Stephen Carlson
Amanda Luiken
Ashley Whittlesey
Adam Williford

Kansas

Dallas Stephens

Louisiana

Ricky Folse

Maine

Dana Direnzo
Joshua Easley
Christopher Everest
Brock Leighton
Christopher Plante
Jake Roy

Maryland

Shawn Seifers

Massachusetts

Zachary App
George Barth
Adam Cervin
Nathan Hopping
Katherine Lewis
Devin Page
Jonathan Quinn

Michigan

Fahim Mounir

Mississippi

Vanessa Benson
David Fulgham
Charlie Giedd
Matt Nielson
Mitchell Robinson

Missouri

Xavier Kaighin
Lucas Kessels

Nebraska

NaNessa Reyes
Michael Wiekhorst

Nevada

Patricia Eisenberg
Nathaniel Grabel
Calton Salzman

New Hampshire

Dr. Beth Brantley
Leonard Jenkins
Colin Roux

New Jeresy

Jay Reitter

New Mexico

Ryan Brenteson
Una Smith

New York

Devon Bleja
Scott Morris
Connor Smith
Paul Vega
John Wickes

North Carolina

Travis Asbury
Samuel Cannon
Kelby Fite
Jason Llano
Thomas Pope
Mike Serio
Bill Sloan
Jeremy Sloane
Gary Thacker
Travis Varner
Shawn Welch

Ohio

Nathan Ames
Jay Bevard
Harry Carter
Matthew Dickman
Garrett Dienno
Jose Fernandez
Reid FitzGerald
Amanda Ganje
Mark Hand
Marcus Hefflinger
Dr. Robert Laverne
Orsolya Lazar
Matthew Leiden
Oliver Lester
Nick Markley
Carrie Morrow
Mark Najjar
Jacob Nau
Andrew Rehner
Alistair Reynolds
Jennifer Roberts
Ronald Rothhaas Jr.
Aaron Stang
Matthew Stewart
Teddy Woodhouse
Benjamin Zamora

Oklahoma

Bradley Davis

Oregon

Rylee Jackson

Pennslyvania

Robert Laverne
Timothy Marino

Tennessee

Chaz Griffith
Eric Kuehler
Nancy Murphy
Jennifer Smith
Zachary Troup

Texas

Lindsey Brammer
Tyler Burkett
Sam Hill
Philip Ingram
Levi Johnson
Brian LeMaster
Andrew Loyd
Ronny Nelson
Johnny Perla
Kristoffer Rassmussen
Daniel Salgado
Jacob Salgado

Vermont

Joshua Bartlett
Karl Grant

Virginia

Rob Allen
Chris Fields-Johnson
Chris Riley
Alec Selz

Wyoming

Ryan Magrum
Nina L Wajrowski
Matt Wendling

Florida Chapter Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ)

Class
Schedule

Request a Class for your organization

QUALIFIED INSTRUCTORS PRESCRIBER

QUALIFIED INSTRUCTORS PRODUCER

Sample Prescription

PPQ
Holders