Rain Forest International School is built in the rain forest. The beauty of it is having so many trees around. The difficulty is also having so many trees. Trees drop not only leaves, which is not a big deal, but they drop twigs, sticks, and limbs which can be a big deal when they drop on buildings, walls, shelters or vehicles.
One branch was dropping things on a shelter near the garage, punching holes in the roof, and risked damaging a water well if larger chunks fell. So Ron decided it was time to bring down a branch in a controlled manner. He was hoping to cut down the branch while avoiding damage to at least 3 things.
- the well
- the shelter and wall it’s up against
- Body parts of any humans assisting in the work.
A few days early they set up the scaffolding to reach the branch.
One of the guards volunteered to attach a strap to the branch so the tractor could pull it in the desired direction.
Then suddenly one day from my office I heard the sound of a saw, and then the branch fall. Didn’t get to watch it happen… and probably glad I didn’t. So all we have are “before” and “after” photos.
It didn’t go exactly as planned – the saw got stuck, the tractor tried to re=adjust, the strap moved, and Ron’s just glad he didn’t get hurt! He ended the day saying, “Two out of 3’s not bad”
He missed the well
He didn’t hurt any body parts
But the shelter didn’t fare so well. Fortunately there was no damage to the wall, or anything inside the shelter.
