A Trip to Costa Rica! (At the Cleveland Botanical Garden)

June 28, 2023

Living collections

The Collections team recently made their annual journey to the Costa Rica glasshouse at the botanical gardens to perform some much-needed pruning work. This biome requires a hard pruning session each year given how quickly the plants and trees grow. With vines climbing the glass and trees growing into the ceiling, the team saddled up and got to work.

All in all, it was a great (but humid) day of work, the Collections team was able to thin and reduce 6 large trees as well as remove the vines growing up the glasshouse walls.

Jamie C excited for his climb in an Inga tree

Some trees could be climbed normally, other trees required our arborists to tie into the structure of the glasshouse itself.

Jake C’s climbing system attached to the beams of the glasshouse roof
A unique challenge most arborists do not typically encounter in their profession.

The cuttings from this biome must be frozen before it can be disposed of to mitigate the chance of invasive pests escaping. This single day of pruning produced over 50 large contractor bags of debris needing to be frozen. The result of a very successful day of work. A special thank you to Sadie S, Gabby F and Gavin H for assisting the crew of arborists in their pruning endeavors and clean up. Had there been no aid on the ground, keeping the work zone clear, completing a job of this scope in a single day would have been impossible. It was a true team effort, and we are all quite happy with the results.

Jacob Conrad

Lead Climbing Arborist

Jake has been with HF&G since April 2022. He is a certified arborist and chainsaw safety instructor as recognized by the International Society of Arboriculture and OSHA. As Lead Climbing Arborist, he is responsible for overseeing our team of arborists as well as caring for and maintaining all our accessioned tree specimens across each of our three campuses. With our forests and gardens covering a span of 3600 acres, Jake and his crew also keep the many miles of trails safe for our guests and employees. Jakes’ work is ever changing, having so much space and so many trees to tend to. With a focus on safety, and a background in art and athletics, Jake has found a beautiful union of profession and hobby. Being employed to help improve the aesthetics of our grounds while also getting to exercise both his artistic expression and body.

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