Customer Testimonials
“We appreciate the time and attention that your Arbor Patrol team takes to maintain the overall health and appearance of the trees, bushes and general grounds. As they say, you can only have one first impression and the impression the grounds make on both residents and visitors alike is always positive thanks to your caring maintenance. Just as the trees continue to grow and blossom under your care, we hope our relationship with SavATree does the same.”
William Toedter
Southampton, NY
“After four different unsatisfactory visits with so-called arborists, I found SavaTree... I was most impressed with the professionalism of David [my arborists] and his colleagues. They were most knowledgeable, fair with their assessment about what needed to be done, yet very attuned with what my concerns. I highly recommend them without any hesitation. In a field where there is an abundance of folks looking to take advantage of consumers, SavaTree, David and crew strike me as incredibly honest and proud arborists who do a fantastic job.”
Debbie Durkin
Silver Spring, MD
“I am a new and highly satisfied customer of SavATree. For 50 years I have lived in the same house in the Greenhaven area, and in that time I have never had a tree company that gave me such fine service.”
Joan Kleinbard
Rye, NY
“It is always a pleasure working with SavATree as your company provides the best plant, tree and lawn health care that we have experienced at the Ives. Always professional, courteous and responsive to our needs, SavATree’s services have provided our employees and patrons with pleasant outdoor experiences in an insect free environment for several years.”
Kathleen G. Gallagher
Executive Director
The Charles Ives Center for the Arts
Danbury, CT
“For over 14 years, I have entrusted the care of my trees, plants and orchard to SavATree. Their highly qualified arborists have exacting standards and understand how to maintain the health and form of the various species of trees on my property. I admire the artistic skill that goes into the pruning and love the colorful blossoms, fruits and foliage that flourish as a result of their impeccable care.”
Martha Stewart
Katonah, NY
"Efficient, high quality, professional competence — all at a competitive sum. At first [Alison] Pottage won me over by her solid knowledge as an arborist, then the crew did their job to her specifications on our 60 to 70 foot oaks within a remarkable period of time -- and left the grounds quite clean.”
Bob Busser
Philadelphia, PA
Click here to read all testimonials“You take on a job, call it a problem, gigantic or small, and you go to it. True Professionals. I am at peace for having found SavATree. Sometimes bills are paid grudgingly. I pay with respect to a company whose pride lives up to its logo. It’s love of what you do and I thank you.”
Sam Fink
Great Neck, NY
Maintaining Old Trees
Conservation Arboriculture
Since the beginning, trees have furnished us with life essentials. To our ancestors, trees were part of their subsistence and economy. Over time, our uses and our knowledge of their benefits increased. Regardless of the time period — trees are an integral part of life.
Our planet's largest and oldest trees provide the greatest environmental benefits. (Fig. 1). Therefore, as the trees growing in our urban environment reach maturity, developing strategies for their preservation and avoiding their unnecessary removal is of vital importance. The solution is conservation arboriculture: an ecosystembased management strategy that addresses a tree's biology, life stage, and risk for the purpose of the tree's preservation.
The Roots of Conservation Arboriculture
Though the term "conservation arboriculture" is relatively new, the practice dates back to at least the 15th century: a time when demand for timber was intense and forest management became necessary. Through practices such as pollarding or coppicing, trees functioned as "working trees" to produce fuel wood, building materials, and other benefits. As society evolved, people migrated to nearby cities and abandoned those once meticulously maintained trees. As a result, the trees flourished. They grew very large and old, some exceeding 1000 years in age. Such longevity was made possible through past management practices, which encouraged canopy rejuvenation, maintained the root mass, and reduced static loading on trunks and branches, even when they were decayed.
Veteran Trees
These veteran trees are often the sites of complex interactions with other organisms — some that require characteristics only found on mature trees, such as large parts of dead wood and decay. Research has revealed that these trees are veritable arks of biodiversity, with species richness comparable to or exceeding that found in natural forests.
Fortunately, modern arboriculture has progressed greatly — especially in the field of tree risk assessment. Today, advanced assessment methodologies such as resistograph readings, sonic and electric impedance tomography, static load testing, and other technologies are widely available. These tools contribute to evidence-based tree risk assessment, and can therefore help arborists determine whether (and how) to invest in the retention of veteran trees. The care of mature trees is also supported by an ever-growing body of research and knowledge that offers new insights into tree biomechanics — particularly the effects of internal decay on strength loss and stability. In doing so, these methods provide precedents for arboricultural prescriptions designed to maintain old trees in reasonably safe condition or provide real justification when removal is deemed necessary.
Conservation arboriculture is an evolving discipline. The keys to its success will include experience, innovation, experimentation, knowledge transfer, and adaptation. Preserving our veteran trees for the many important benefits they provide will require a change in the way we think about tree aesthetics as well as an adoption of more innovative management techniques. If we can accomplish this, future generations will reap the rewards of these living monuments to cultural and natural heritage. By their nature, veteran trees are survivors and can considerably outlive our life spans; but only if we give them that chance.
Philip van Wassenaer, B.Sc., MFC, ISA Certified Arborist and principalconsultant for Urban Forest Innovations Inc. contributed to this article. Philip is a world renowned expert on Conservation Arboriculture.