Darnestown resident Melissa Lawler hopes to reach new heights at an international tree climbing competition on Saturday, which will be the arborist’s fourth time vying for global glory.
Lawler, an arborist for 14 years, will represent the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture’s annual International Tree Climbing Championship in the 1,293-acre Forest Park in St. Louis, Mo. There, she will compete against 50 climbers from 11 countries to see who is the fastest, safest and most proficient at scaling the upper rungs of the forest and performing tree-care tasks.
‘‘It’s like a mini Olympics-type thing,” Lawler, 36, said. ‘‘...It just literally represents the world of tree climbing.”
The entrants will demonstrate their skills in five scored events – the work climb, the aerial rescue, the throwline, the belayed speed climb and the secured footlock. The events include such tasks as pruning, using a handsaw, securing and lowering equipment, dropping tree limbs on targets and rescuing a climber. The highest scorers move on to the Masters’ Challenge, where they climb a tree and accomplish a timed series of tasks. Winners receive a chainsaw, climbing saddle, cash and an invitation to compete again the following year.
Lawler, who also enjoys running, gardening and cooking, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in environmental science. She moved to the Washington, D.C., area to do environmental advocacy but became an arborist because she missed being outside. Her husband of 11 years, Andrew Lawler, is also an arborist, though she said they try to avoid talking trees at home.
‘‘It wasn’t the right thing for me,” Lawler said of her stint in the political world. ‘‘I was an outdoors person.”
The competition has been around for more than 50 years, but it didn’t make its official debut until 1976.
In addition to recognizing arborists for their talents, the contest serves to promote the tree-care industry.
‘‘It’s also public education,” said Sonia Garth, a spokeswoman for the International Society of Arboriculture. ‘‘Even though it’s a competition, they’re still simulating what they do on the job.”
Lawler, a sales consultant at Gaithersburg-based The Care of Trees, and James Earhart of Bartlett Tree Experts in North Carolina were selected to represent the Mid-Atlantic Chapter at a competition in Washington Grove in April, according to the chapter’s Web site.
Lawler, one of 14 women enrolled in the contest, has competed regionally since 2000 and internationally for the last four years, she said. In 2007, she placed second in the women’s throwline event, according to the ISA’s Web site, and Lawler said she’s excited to compete again.
‘‘I’m nervous,” she said. ‘‘But it’s a good, jittery nervous.”
