Blog

Oct 31, 2024

Climbing while pregnant & postpartum

So pregnancy, postpartum, and tree work. Since I’m all done having babies and now have all the firsthand experience with this topic that...

Dec 11, 2022

Woodworking, Willows and Carbon Accounting

Did you know your wood floor is storing carbon? Neat! This post may raise more questions than it answers, and definitely will touch on...

Jan 27, 2022

Medicine from Bark, Shrubs to Mitigate Pollution, and Trees on Roofs: 6 months of learning

Well, originally these were supposed to be separate blog posts, but I never got around to it, which is something that happens while...

Nov 15, 2021

3 possible keys to Degrowing tree work

A prerequisite to understanding the concrete suggestions below is to have some understanding of Degrowth as a political philosophy, which...

Oct 27, 2021

Shearing: the good, the bad, and the ugly

A picture of a sheared shrub along the sidewalk that I noticed on a walk. So what's the deal with shearing? There's arborists who love...

Oct 11, 2021

What's the deal with chestnuts?

(Above: a picture of freshly roasted chestnuts.) You may have heard some buzz around chestnuts in residential areas. Or you may not. If...

Oct 7, 2021

CHIPPING TIME: electric chipper coming soon

(That's a picture I took while climbing & pruning the elms in Andover, MA. It has nothing to do with chipping but I love those trees.)...

Oct 2, 2021

Removals to Harvest: Rethinking "Right Tree, Right Place"

Hang around arborists long enough, and you'll probably hear this phrase "right tree, right place." It often assumes that you're always...

Sep 22, 2021

Experiments at Home: Knotweed Control

We have a knotweed issue at home. For those of you who don't know, Japanese knotweed (Latin names have included Reynoutria japonica,...

Sep 21, 2021

FAQ: Do you weed?

Tldr; Sometimes, maybe, ask me. Longer answer: I think that the climate crisis (among other factors) will force/is forcing us to...

Sep 21, 2021

Pruning for Absolute Beginners

In the spring of 2020 I gave a brief Zoom tutorial on pruning to members of the Boston Workers Circle. The slideshow is below, but if you...

Aug 5, 2021

Dealing with Downed Wood: Sustainable Options for Storm Damage

Maybe you had branches come down in the latest storm, or maybe you did some home pruning that you don't want to add to your brush...