Tree Scum Podcast

I had the pleasure of meeting Frank the Liberty Tree in northeast KC on January 10th, 2025. Frank was a 282-340-year-old bur oak tree that was removed after I volunteered my time and used the most high-tech tree assessment tools available to determine that Frank was structurally stable and had a robust root system. My recommendation to keep Frank went against the recommendations of MDC who did zero actual assessment of Frank or any work to confirm the wood decay fungus they said was affecting him. I also went against the main advocate of Franks removal, Ron Gamm who owns the tree removal company (Alpha Omega Complete Tree Service) who is not even a Certified Arborist, is not from KC, and made 9k to remove Frank. After Frank was removed, Jessica Thomas who bought the property the Frank sat on for three centuries less than a month before removing him, sold Frank off piece by piece on the internet and received over $1,800 in donations to removed him at www.FranktheLibertyTree.com. This is the most frustrating and saddening case I have ever been involved with.

Please read more about this case here: Frank the Liberty Tree

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

I know the sound quality on this is not great but at least it is a new episode!

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

This episode is who I would place on my Dream Team of tree scum. This is a five-person crew that does the work. I will go over who and why people made the cut. I hope this lets people know what I value in a worker and what makes a good environment to work in.

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

I have to admit; I pirated the phrase Tree Scum off my buddy Nich who owns Salish Tree Care and Consulting in Washington State. In this episode we talk about how he came up with the concept and who this phase applied to. Generally, I apply the term to everyone who does tree work that is a little rough around the edges. I take it as a term that really sums up most of the people who do work in our industry, we are outcasts in society who found a generally laid-back industry in which to do high risk problem solving every day. It is an industry where tree sum is relied upon because we are the only ones willing to do this dangerous work for low pay. Tree scum then uses how needed they are to get away with being tree sum. It's a win, win in my book and wont, and shouldn't ever majorly change.

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

On this episode I share a few stories of my early days in tree crew. These stories are from men I consider my friends who are unfortunately not doing tree work anymore due to natural retirement or retirement due to injury. This episode focusses on my homie Serg who did some crazy stuff back in the days but was a man I would trust with my life. Stay healthy my friends!

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

In this episode I talk about all the certifications and qualification that i have and whether or not I find them beneficial. I also talk about how certifications fund your local ISA chapter and how these organizations and the big ISA must make new qualifications once older ones hit their market saturation point to continue meeting revenue goals. I also talk about how I would structure credentialling to better fit workers needs and pout them above corporate profit.

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

The worse person I have ever met is a person who values stuff over anything else. This is also a person who only thinks of themselves and will try to get your kids taken from you because they want a free tree removal. I met this person while working a tree job and in this episode I talk about how a good consultant could have helped this situation out.

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

In this episode I go over what it is like to own a small tree company and the practical details of treating trees of Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Hopefully you can see how stressful running a small company is but also see why the industry is heading to a place where only very small and very large companies will exist. I also go how to identify Emerald Ash Borer infestations, how to make money offering this service, and how to identify if it is appropriate to treat a particular tree.

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.

This is an introduction on what to expect from this podcast, who I am, what I represent and were we go from here. We talk about what it is to work in the tree care industry, and I share how I got into the industry and what my first day on the job was like.

Website: www.MissouriArborist.com

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube: Missouri Arborist Company

Email: [email protected]

If you look moderately hard, you will find me.