ProArb Trees are our Platinum fete sponsor and I had the pleasure of asking owner Tony, some questions about his business:

 

Can you tell us about the history and background of your business? How did it all begin? How long have you been doing this?

Originally I was a public servant for about 20 years and then you can say I had a tree change. I took a voluntary redundancy and started doing some gardening work.  Then people started asking if I could cut down trees, so I went to CIT in 2014 and studied Arboriculture and started cutting down trees. I met my business partner, Isaac, at CIT and it has evolved from there. 

 

What should we look for in an Arborist?

There are a lot of people in Canberra that aren't qualified. My business partner and I are AQF 3 Qualified Arborists and are currently enrolled in the Diploma of Arboriculture (AQF 5 level). We have continuously upskilled ourselves. So, my advice would be to get someone who is qualified and understands what's happening with trees and what does or doesn’t need to happen to a tree.

 

Many people in our school community are homeowners. What are some common tree care tips or signs they should look out for when it comes to their trees' health and safety?

Particularly with eucalyptus trees, if you can visibly see a fungal bracket or it's also known as a fruiting body then that needs to be looked at - it’s like a very hard mushroom growing on the trunk of the tree, usually within the first 2 metres from the ground. It means the tree has been damaged in the past and it can look quite healthy but is actually rotting from the inside.

You also need to be aware of how close your trees are getting to powerlines, and make sure they are 1.5 metres away from the low voltage lines or 1 meter from your service line, this is for the safety of the tree and the community. Also, with bushfire season here make sure your gutters are cleaned out – we offer that service too.

 

Safety is a significant concern for parents, especially when it comes to tree services. How does your company ensure the safety of your team and the surrounding properties when performing tree work?

Safety is paramount in our business, particularly when you're putting a person in a tree because a lot of the time, we have to climb the tree. So we're always looking to have two points of attachment. One is the rope, which is attached to a point higher up in the tree. And then they also have what's called a pole strap which is another point of attachment. So if the high point attachment were to fail, we would still be strapped into the tree.

 

Then the second most important thing is obviously not damaging someone's house or assets or whatever is below the tree. We use things such as lowering ropes and guidelines to make sure that we can safely bring branches down without damaging any plants or house or any other structure.

 

The industry isn't as regulated as it should be, but we are very well trained – aside from our initial training, we undertook a five-day course in order to become Evoenergy accredited, so we can work safely near the powerlines. Each year we need to undertake 2 days of refresher training. We also do a risk analysis for each job, which includes a toolbox talk, where we stand together at the start of each job and discuss the risks, so that everyone is on the same page.

 

 

Are you available outside of business hours for emergencies?

Yes absolutely – just call on 0450962205. Depending on what’s happened it might be better to call the SES first, as they will make the house safe and then you can call us to clean up at your own expense the next day.

 

What’s the tallest/biggest tree you’ve dealt with?

In excess of 35 metres [for reference that’s about 8 single story houses stacked on top of each other], we’ve had to use cranes and traffic management to get some trees down, but there is no tree that we can’t deal with.

 

What happens to the wood after a tree has been pruned or chopped down?

We cut the tree up and feed the branches through our 12-inch wood chipper, which turns it into mulch. We either leave the mulch on site or we take it away.  The waste either goes to another home or school or is recycled at the tip. We are looking at ways to reuse or recycle, such as creating wood slabs from the larger trees that we cut down. You can register your interest with us for mulch, just send us an email, there’s no guarantees but if we’re in the neighbourhood and have put a tree through the chipper that would otherwise go to the tip then we may be able to drop a load off in your front yard.

 

Finally, any interesting job or story you could tell us?

We had a job an hour and a half out of Canberra in Crookwell, we were clearing trees along the road. It was a big job requiring traffic management for the entire day. My business partner, Isaac had just returned from a holiday in Bali, and it started to snow! So, -he went from a tropical holiday to working all day in the snow!

 

Website: www.proarbtrees.com.au

Email: anthonyswhalen@hotmail.com

Call: 0450 962 205