Tree Climbing for Research and Conservation: A Report on the 2nd Tree Climbing Workshop held at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana

Bismark Ofosu-Bamfo , Steven Pearce, Victoria Tough, Sam Hardingham, Anita Aboah, Kennedy Agyemang, Yaw Owusu Asamoah, Kwame Baffour Asare, Prince Yeboah Baah, Michel Sakele Diawara, Deborah Ewuradjoa Kesewaa Doe, Sheriff Iddriss, Davy Ngueba Ikapi, Dennis Osei-Bonsu, Anthony Owusu Achiaw, Solomon Nii Offei Wellington, Isaac Sarkodie, Pascal Sibomana, Daniel Yawson

The second Tree Climbing Workshop, held from April 9–18, 2025 at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana, aimed to enhance canopy access and research capacity in West Africa. The workshop provided 11 participants from Ghana, Gabon, Guinea and Rwanda with skills in static and moving rope techniques, visual tree assessment, rescue rigging, and mounting scientific instruments while also augmenting the skills of the first cohort trainees. Precision scientific equipment valued at USD 6,000 was donated by international experts to support tropical forest research in Ghana. A conservation expedition to Atewa Forest Reserve followed the workshop (April 20-27, 2025), identifying and measuring emergent trees, including a 59.65 m Ceiba pentandra, the tallest known tree in Atewa. The expedition underscored Atewa’s ecological and cultural value, as well as its vulnerability to logging and mining potentially decimating the giant trees of Atewa forest. The workshop has catalyzed new canopy research initiatives, including a phenology camera network and a citizen science project involving over 1,000 volunteers. These efforts signal a shift in focus for tropical forest research in Ghana. The application of tree climbing techniques has opened unprecedented avenues for ecological research and biodiversity conservation in West Africa.