The Tree Thinking Podcast

 The tree work industry is full of amazing people! We are a mosaic of college educated, internet research, trial and error, skills pass down through mentorships, knowledge shared over a beer, and good old fashion self-taught. How did you get where you’re at, and where are you going? Even if you have been working for decades. There is always something else to learn and when you start teaching, you...

Tom worked his first tree job at 12. While in college, He went on to start a 45 year career in the tree industry. In that time he did everything from, dragging brush on the ground, to climber in the canopy. His impact on the industry went to the next level teaching arborist classes, as a Recreational and professional tree climbing instruction. He helped to introduce SRT to our industry, and contri...

When working in a tree, what needs to be done? Dead wood, building clearance, hazard mitigation, maybe even some ornamental pruning. This is usually what the client is looking for, but what we want is a small piece of the puzzle. Trees are home to more life then you can imagine. From animals like birds and squirrels, to bugs and even microscopic organisms. Did you know there is a salamander that l...

A wise man said, “If you do what you love you never work a day in your life.” ODB said, “None of you better look at me funny, you know my name now give me my money!” Why do you make your way up into the canopy? If you ever been 300’ up a tree, looking at the top of the forest 100’ feet below, you know how it’s almost religious. That being said it doesn’t get much better than crushing a big job, wi...

We live in a world of networks. We use networks of computers to connect information from around the planet. We use networks of roads to accesses the world around us. We use networks of people to create social connections. How can you find ways to use, add to, or even connect to these systems in a way that will expand your business, grow your career, or build you skill sets. In this episode of tree...

How do you get off the ground? Do you use a ladder, throw ball, big shot, cross bow, bow and arrow, air cannon, grappling hook, or just start climbing. It probably depends on the tree you’re climbing and what you’re doing to the tree, and that’s all before you get your line set. If you have used a throw ball. Your experience probably ranges from amazement you can set your line that high in the tre...

When the world broke, we were no longer were allowed to have social contact unless absolute necessary. For a lot of us tree climbers, that meant no competitions in 2020. While we tried to figure out what to do, almost all hope was lost until we heard about the 2020 tree stuff rescue rally. Could we put a team together? Heck, could we even get selected? On this episode of Tree Thinking we tell the...

The definition of an arborist according to the Webster dictionary: a specialist in the care and maintenance of trees. According to the Cambridge dictionary it’s a person whose job is to take care of trees and make sure that they are healthy and safe; however, this just scratches the surface. We are everything from scientific intellectuals, to knuckle dragging grunt workers. Some of us are trying t...

What is an arborist? How do you define safety on your crew? What is your strategy for selling tree work? Are trees sentient beings? And why wigs and aerial rescue don’t mix? Through a mix of deep dives on individual subjects, getting out and field testing our equipment, and interviews with the people that make up our industry. Tree Thinking will answer these questions and many more. As we try to u...