2020 Inspiration Award: Women in Trades Winner: Katherine Knapman

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Katharine loves the environment and working outdoors, so she decided on a traineeship in arboriculture. She was the first female trainee hired in her place of work, Maroondah City Council.

Katharine has been able to overcome experiences with members of the public, who, at times, view her as being incompetent because she is a woman. She has engaged in learning on weekends with external arborists – she feels this will assist her with her future studies.

She is part of the Victorian Tree Industry Organisation (VTIO) and Supporting and Linking Tradeswomen (SALT), as well as other online groups. She was a finalist for the AEN Trainee of the Year award in 2019 and has been the recipient of awards including the Holmesglen Student Excellence Award for Outstanding 1st Year (Arboriculture) Trainee and the Timmy B Award from the VITO Climbing Competition 2019.