Myerscough lecturer meets Masters’ students at prestigious Hong Kong arboriculture conference

Dr Andrew Hirons was invited to be a guest speaker at the recent ISA Hong Kong Chapter International Conference, giving delegates a lecture on ‘Smart Water Management for Trees with the Use of IoT Sensors’.

The conference and workshop bought together a diverse array of distinguished experts and practitioners from around the globe to share the latest developments and research on arboriculture and urban forestry.

Dr Hirons also delivered a pre-conference workshop entitled ‘Applied Tree Biology - Understanding Tree Biology and How It Relates to Practice’, which included an outdoor demonstration showcasing the latest research tools, including Internet of Things (IoT) sensors.

Among the delegates were overseas postgraduate students who have been studying Myerscough’s MSc (Masters) programme in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. This is a ground-breaking course with an international profile, and delivered entirely online.

This means that students undertaking the programme never usually meet their tutors in person, but the attendance of Dr Hirons meant that learners were able to meet and interact for the very first time.

Find out more about this programme here

Dr Hirons is a Senior Lecturer in Arboriculture at University Centre Myerscough. He teaches modules relating to tree biology, tree establishment and tree management.

His current research activity is motivated by the need to create resilience in our urban forests and is focused on using plant traits to inform species selection for urban environments. A further interest is in the role of sensors to inform tree management and provide more robust evidence for tree management practices.

He is co-author of Applied Tree Biology (Wiley-Blackwell) and Tree Selection for Green Infrastructure (Trees and Design Action Group) as well as a number of academic papers.

He began his career in arboriculture as a climbing arborist and plant care technician, working in Australia, America and the UK, before joining the arboriculture department at Myerscough in 2004.