As you all may know, Arborwell became Employee Owned this past year.

This means that all of our employees have become part owners! Beginning this month, we will be posting “Owner Highlights”, which will be articles that highlight employee’s that are going above and beyond to provide excellent service to our customers. Without employees like this, we would not be the company we are today. This month we will be highlighting two individuals who have been nominated by regional managers for their hard work and attitude. Below are the reasons that each employee received their nomination, enjoy!

Daniel Bautista

(Daniel is shown above assisting a new climber working in a tree)

Foreman for Arborwell in the Bay Area.

Been with Arborwell for over 3 years

Nominated by account manager Matt Fournier:

     “He has been the residential Foreman for the last year. Arborwell gets so many verbal compliments on our residential pruning now. He has taken it upon himself to encourage and mentor new climbers on his crew and is absolutely steadfast in his discipline regarding his work ethic and responsibility on his job-sites. Our residential crew serves a difficult clientele and It takes nothing to get a residential client dissatisfied, yet Daniel continuously performs large, technical projects for our residential portfolio without accidents or client complaints !! He has also taken Chris Salas, who recently graduated ACT training, and given him the support he needs to step towards becoming a complete climber. The more Foreman we have do things like this the more success our training programs will have.”

Miguel Ramirez

(Miguel is shown above with 2 other Arborwell employees after Aerial Rescue Training)

Foreman for Arborwell in Sacramento

Been with Arborwell for over a year

Nominated by account manager David Vega

“Miguel Ramirez, a Foreman in Sacramento I believe deserves special recognition. He showed great diligence today holding a new job briefing  and having me sign it because my presence and assistance changed the original plan. Also during aerial rescue he wasn’t content to just watch and learn he got involved and started helping new climbers practice throwing the throw ball.  For these reasons I gave him my Knee Ascender and a brand new set of chaps.”

Why Are Trees Important? 

It’s no secret that trees help the environment, but you may be surprised by all the benefits that planting and caring for your trees can provide.  Besides beautifying our properties and providing us shade in hot weather, trees have many environmental and economic benefits.  Trees save energy, reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, and improve air quality. 

Properly-cared-for trees will increase property value.

Trees are a landscape’s most valuable asset.  Mature, well-maintained trees can add up to 20 percent more value to a real estate appraisal, as well as aesthetic curb appeal that draws positive attention to a property.  Conversely, deferred maintenance and poorly maintained trees can have the opposite effect on a property, potentially lowering its value up to 15 percent.  Trees that are not cared for properly can also create a large liability for the property owners and managers.  When trees have not been regularly inspected by an ISA Certified Arborist and kept appropriately pruned on a normal basis, there can be an increased potential for failure from heavy limbs.  If there is a poor root structure that has not been identified by an ISA Certified Arborist and cared for, then complete tree failure is liable to occur. 

Trees conserve building energy use.

Trees modify climate and conserve building energy use.  Trees and other vegetation on individual building sites may lower air temperatures 5˚F compared with sites without trees.  For individual buildings, strategically placed trees can increase energy efficiency in the summer and winter.  Because the summer sun is low in the east and west for several hours each day, solar angles must be considered; trees that face west-facing walls help keep buildings cool.  In the winter, allowing the sun to strike the southern side of a building can warm interior spaces. 

Trees improve air quality in their environment.

Air pollution is a serious health threat to many city dwellers, and often leads to the development of respiratory or heart diseases.  Urban forests absorb gaseous pollutants through leaf surfaces, as well has intercept pollutants such as dust, ash, pollen, and smoke.  Trees also release oxygen through photosynthesis.  In addition, they reduce energy use, which reduces emissions of pollutants from power plants. 

If tree biomass is properly recycled, it creates clean energy.

The way a tree’s biomass is recycled is very important to closing the carbon dioxide cycle.  Perhaps the greenest way to recycle tree waste is to send it to a biomass plant.  Numerous tree care companies in California send all of the tree biomass through a chipper to create wood-chips, and then those chips are transported to a biomass plant.  Once the chips arrive at the plant, they are dumped into large hoppers and fed into a furnace where they are burned.  The fire heats water in a boiler and the resulting steam is used to turn turbines and generators.  All of the power that is created is sent directly into the state’s power grid.  Burning biomass creates what experts call a “net gain of zero”. The small amount of emissions generated during biomass burning is offset by the amount of carbon dioxide that was absorbed by the biomass while it was growing.  Biomass power plants diligently work to ensure that emissions are kept to the absolute minimum.   

• Are there large, dead branches in the tree?
• Are there detached branches hanging in the tree?
• Does the tree have cavities or rotten wood along the trunk or in major branches?
• Are mushrooms present at the base of the tree?
• Are there cracks or splits in the trunk or where branches are attached?
• Have any branches fallen from the tree?
• Have adjacent trees fallen or died?
• Has the trunk developed a strong lean?
• Do many of the major branches arise from one point on the trunk?
• Have the roots been broken off, injured, or damaged by lowering the soil level, installing pavement, repairing sidewalks, or digging trenches?
• Has the leaves prematurely developed an unusual color or size?
• Have trees in adjacent wooded areas been removed?
• Has the tree been topped or otherwise heavily pruned?

Specific types of pruning may be necessary to maintain a mature tree in a healthy, safe, and attractive condition.

• Cleaning is the removal of dead, dying, diseased, weakly attached, and low vigor branches from the crown of a tree.
• Thinning is selective branch removal to improve structure and to increase light penetration and air movement throughout the crown. Proper thinning opens the foliage of a tree, reduces weight on heavy limbs, and helps retain the tree’s natural shape.
• Raising removes the lower branches from a tree to provide clearance for buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, and vistas.
• Reduction reduces the size of a tree. Reducing a tree’s height or spread is best accomplished by pruning back the leaders and branch terminals to secondary branches that are large enough to assume the terminal roles. Compared to topping, reduction helps maintain the form and structural integrity of the tree.