On the 9th of February 2024, Arbtech will be staging its first-ever all-employee conference, with a view to making it an annual event moving forward. It will be held at Tewkesbury Park in Gloucestershire, span three days between the Friday and the Sunday, and as with all of the company social events, the entire conference, all activities, travel, food and accommodation will be generously paid for by the company.
Situated across 176 acres of land the 93-bedroom and 11-conference room hotel, Tewkesbury Park acts as the ideal destination for the inaugural ArbCon. Between insightful talks delivered by our team as well as guest speakers that range from bat experts to Olympic gold medalists, new guidance briefings, workshops, one-to-one employee reviews (and spa/massage treatments!), the whole team will be able to utilise the resort hotel’s amenities, including three bars (uh-oh!), an 18-hole golf course, a fitness centre, a hot tub, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna, spa, and squash and tennis courts. In fact, the boss has matted out one of the squash courts to host open mats and seminars for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other fight sports enthusiasts.
A Summary of ArbCon 2024
Below, you will find a more in-depth summary of what we have planned for ArbCon 2024:
Friday
Opening with a welcome speech from Arbtech CEO, Robert Oates, followed by an Olympic gold medalist keynote speaker in the Cotswolds Suite, the day will then move into talks on bat call analysis, bats in trees, botany, construction-oriented tree surveys and computer-aided design (CAD) techniques, as well as workshops on mammals, mentoring, dealing with difficult client conversations, and a final workshop specifically created for our 2024 cohort of 50 interns.
At the same time, the Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Warwick Rooms will be used for the senior ecologists and arboriculturists to attend separate higher-level meetings about evolutions in our workflow, while the management and administration teams will be given an opportunity to ask questions about ecological and arboricultural surveys during CPD presentations aimed at their roles. The Roses Suite will be open throughout the day as a breakout room and, thanks to Chris Poplett, a soil laboratory workshop.
After a short break for everyone to get ready, the first evening at Tewkesbury Park will kick off with champagne, cocktails and canapés before leading into a three-course gala meal and casino night.
Saturday
While Saturday will see CPD events pertaining to bats, biodiversity net gain (BNG) and herpetofauna in the Cotswolds Suite, the Duke of Gloucester Room will host talks on BS5837 tree surveys, tree risk assessments and the principles of tree management, and the Earl of Warwick Room will be allocated for separate talks for the finance and administration teams.
Between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm, the focus will be on fight sports (for those inclined), and the Roses Suite will be available as a breakout room with games and activities including an air hockey table, gaming van, F1 simulator, pool table, and giant Scalextric, Jenga and snakes and ladders. There’s also the use of spinning class rooms, squash and tennis courts, a pool and spa, a gym and yoga area.
Arbtechers are free to enjoy the various games and activities on offer into the night, while indulging in a pan-Asian-themed buffet dinner as the evening meal.
Sunday
On the final day of the conference, the Cotswolds Suite will host a 2-hour workshop with specialist bat ecologist Richard Crompton, as well as a separate talk on bats in trees. Meanwhile, the Duke of Gloucester Room will be reserved for talks from tree expert Christopher Neilan on Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) and Myerscough College senior lecturer Duncan Slater on decay in trees.
Following a buffet served at lunchtime and providing that Arbtech employees have attended all relevant talks and workshops, they will be able to depart Tewkesbury Park, taking with them invaluable knowledge and experiences from the three-day conference.
Interested in Joining Arbtech? Get Involved at ArbCon 2024
As the UK’s leading ecological consultancy, Arbtech continues to grow exponentially and is always on the lookout for talented individuals to join our team. (See here for more details on open roles).
The benefits of working for us are like nothing else in the sector, with the 40-day holiday allowance, remote working, no time sheets, unlimited CPD budget, employee-to-employee bonus system, paid social events and generous salaries featuring among a vast array of worthy examples (more details can be found on the back page of any of our open-role, job vacancy adverts).
During ArbCon, alongside efforts to educate and celebrate our existing team, we want to open up opportunities for potential Arbtechers to attend the event and learn more about working for us and with us. That’s why on Sunday 11th February 2024, we’ve allocated a slot between 10:00 am and 10:30 am in the Cotswolds Suite for any ecologists interested in working for Arbtech to get involved in a meet and greet with members of our management, ecology and arboriculture teams. Equally, clients and industry peers are welcome to at any time on Sunday after 10:00 am, and stay to enjoy the guest speaker lectures afterwards.
If you’re interested, simply arrive at the Reception area of Tewkesbury Park in preparation for a 10:00 am start on Sunday 11th February. We look forward to seeing you!
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