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 might just take your learning to another level. After all young world the world is yours!

On this episode of the tree thinking podcast, we do some research, into trial and error. Look at the benefit of self-taught and mentorship. All while consuming a couple beers on education, evolution and the arborist community.

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 contributed to all of our safety, working on the ANSI Z133 committee. When the world started going digital. He was involved on the ISA Arborists Discussion Forum. He got involved in one of the early arborist on line communities as a Co-founder of TreeBuzz.com.

On this episode of tree thinking we talk to an educator, an innovated, and a hard working arborist who left the industry better than he found it. This week we talk to Tom Dunlap.

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 lives its whole life in the canopy of old growth trees! As people who work where the forest meets the city. How can we help facilitate this transition? In a way where we all benefit.

On this episode of tree thinking podcast. We create a habitat where our business helps the forest, because the forest helps our business, on wildlife and trees.

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, with a great crew, where everybody’s making money. Where do these ideas intersect?

On this episode of The Tree Thinking Podcast, we climb into this topic for fun, all while getting it done. In The synergy of Work and Rec climbing.

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 thinking, we will connect the dots, expand our grid, and look at why we should create a business matrix, in Expand your Network.

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 tree, down to extreme frustration when half the line comes out tangled. On this episodes of Tree Thinking we untangle these topics, while taking a big shot at grappling with the different ideas of setting our lines in. The good, the bad, the ugly, of throw ball.

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 story of how Team Eugene came together, put our best foot forward, while trying to not totally embarrass ourselves in, The 2020 Rescue Rally.

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 to understand the languages of sentient beings, while others are just trying to make a pay check harvesting raw material. Some work in office, some in labs, and others hang hundreds of feet off the ground all day. We are tree people. In this episode of Tree Thinking, we will coil the ropes, run our experiments and crunch the numbers as we try to figure out what is an arborist. 

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 understand the tree world around us, on, The Tree Thinking Podcast.