When Libby Bower decided she was ready to leave her job in social work and youth development, it was the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. After applying for numerous jobs, she received a callback from Davey Tree Expert Co. — an industry in which she had no prior experience.
“I did not go to school for anything tree- or green industry-related. … I didn’t really expect to like it very much, to be honest, just because I didn’t know anything about it at all. But it’s been a really cool journey,” Bower said.
Now, the 32-year-old Chicagoan finds herself climbing trees not just for her job, but for the sport of it. For the past four years, Bower has competed in tree climbing competitions in Illinois and across the U.S.
“This is truly one of the most niche sort of things that our industry offers,” Bower said. “I don’t really know of any other jobs or industries typically that have competitions about their job because they love it so much, and they think it’s so much fun that they want to do it outside of work more.”
She will also be one of 30 participants in the Illinois Arborist Association’s 2026 Illinois Tree Climbing Championship this weekend. The contest at Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville Saturday and Sunday will also feature an Arbor Fair for spectators.
When someone thinks of tree climbing, it’s probably along the lines of a fun childhood pastime. But this competition is much more than just scaling tree limbs and enjoying the view from the canopy.
“We kind of use (the competition) for a bunch of things. One is PR for people to realize that it is a very dangerous job, climbing trees, especially when you’re 40 feet up in a tree on a rope with a running saw,” said April Toney, executive director of the Illinois Arborist Association.
All the challenges competitors face in the championship mimic the work arborists do as part of their daily job.
This is the 41st year the Illinois Arborist Association has held the statewide competition. There are five preliminary events: work climb, aerial rescue, belayed speed climb, ascent and throwline.
The top three preliminary winners advance to the master’s challenge, with the male and female winners of that moving on to represent Illinois at the International Tree Climbing Championship in St. Louis in October.
Toney said the events are intended not only to identify the state’s top climbers but to reinforce safe work practices and expose participants to new techniques and equipment.
“Like any industry or any job, if there’s a skill that, especially a physical one, has a task involved, and you only ever learn from the same one or two people … you’re kind of only learning in a bubble,” Bower said. “So competing gives me the opportunity to work alongside and learn and train with people who I don’t see every day.”
It can also open up new opportunities for those who do well.
“Our past tree climbing competition winner — he’s not going to make it this year — but he said after he won his first competition, he got so many job offers after that. He was just astounded,” she said.
Arborists who spoke to the Naperville Sun about the competition said the work climb event, which tests their ability to navigate a tree using a tree-climbing rope and harness, was a favorite.
“The work climb is, to me, like the poster child for the competition,” said Phil Prohaska, senior resource technician for the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
For that event, arborists start at the top of a tree and scale downward, completing different work stations along the way. After a specific task like pruning is completed, they ring a bell using a handsaw or some other tool. The challenge is to safely maneuver to every station and score points before time runs out.
Bower said that in addition to the work climb, the aerial rescue event is one of her favorites. Competitors have 20 minutes to safely lower an “injured climber” — represented by a dummy — to the ground without using a ladder or bucket truck.
“I think aerial rescue is much more technical and a bit like a puzzle about kind of finding a way to approach a medical risk scenario in the tree and finding your own way to make it, again, still a safe and technical rescue, but (with) your own approach to it,” she said.
It is also a particularly important event, Toney said, since there aren’t a lot of people qualified to complete such a rescue.
“It’s something that we need to be prepared for on the daily because something could happen and may one day happen and, honestly, we do the training at work, but this allows me to get that extra training that’s that’s just better to have in my pocket,” said Dana Brelowski, a tree climber for Davey Tree Co., which has an office in Naperville.
Saturday will also feature the Arbor Fair, at which spectators can talk to experts in the green industry about tree care. There will also be games and arts and crafts for children.
“It’s such a big event, and it’s such a cool event,” Toney said. “We just want people to go out and watch, and just understand that … it’s very important to hire somebody that knows what they’re doing, not just to hire the guy with the chainsaw on the truck.”
The Illinois Tree Climbing Championship will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Thunderbird Youth Campgrounds at Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville. The Arbor Fair is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Both are open to the public and free to attend. For more information, go to illinoisarborist.org/illinois-tree-climbing-championship-3.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
