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February 25, 2017

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Home » District » Putuo

District pruners maintain rich foliage

ON a recent chilly morning, a crowd of passers-by on Meichuan Road stopped to marvel at a team of tree pruners going about their work some 30 or 40 meters off the ground. This rare instance aside, few people stop to consider those who help maintain the district’s rich foliage.

Wang Jihong, 18, is the youngest pruner among those from Putuo District Landscape Construction and Development Co Ltd. As Wang was removing specific branches or stems on the top of tree, his teacher, the 34-year-old Yang Feifei, was watching him and the rest of the tree pruning team.

Yang says pruning is a repetitive and labor-intensive job.

“A lot of post-80s generation tree pruners will feel exhausted, not to mention our elders,” Yang said. “People in their 40s and 50s are not required to work on the trees, and they are mainly in charge of ground work.” While trimming trees, it’s not uncommon for pruners to develop back pains.

In addition to these aches, the workers also suffer bug bites in the tree, which can cause red and swollen skin.

Yang and Wang’s team has around 50 members who are in charge of pruning the majority of the 49,000 street trees in Putuo.

Pruning of a tree takes at least 20 to 30 minutes. For safety concerns, cars and pedestrians are prevented from passing under the trees while they are working.

Tree pruners usually have an affinity with the trees. Yang added that he can easily tell the age and health of the trees.

He proudly recalled that he once pruned 1,700 trees during a single winter.

The tree pruners have recently received allowances for their dedication. Yang has also set up a technical studio. His team has invented a new branch grinder which can efficiently clean the streets and ease the constraints on the traffic.




 

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