MEET VIC FOERSTER
CONSULTING ARBORIST AT SAVATREE
Vic’s passion for the natural world began as a small boy tromping through the Northwoods of Michigan. Hoping to find a career working outdoors, arboriculture seemed a perfect fit. Which … has certainly proved to be true.
Vic has cared for trees in a professional capacity for almost fifty years – first as a Garden Center Store manager, later as a tree care specialist and for the past thirty-four years, as a consulting arborist.
His tree care clients include Grand Valley State University, the City of Grand Rapids, the Land Conservancy, and the State of Michigan, as well as several residential and commercial properties.
He is a past chairman to the Michigan DNR’s urban forestry advisory council and a long-time adviser for the Urban Forestry Project for the City of Grand Rapids. In 2019, the Arboriculture Society of Michigan presented to Vic, The Professional Service Award “For Outstanding Services and Contributions to the Arboriculture and the Urban Forestry Profession.”
He has written several articles pertaining to the proper care and maintenance of trees, including a monthly column called, “From the Field,” for Tree Services Magazine as well as for The Michigan Landscape Magazine. His second book, “Hidden in the Trees, An Isle Royale Sojourn,” was considered for the Burroughs Medal for outstanding outdoor writing. His first book, “Naked in the Stream, Isle Royale Stories” is the 2017 Michigan Great Lakes Reads selection by Michigan’s Center for the Book.
He has developed the communication skills and knowledge to provide tree risk assessment and mitigation, tree appraisal, forensics, tree management plans and inventories, diagnostic services, and provide courtroom expert opinion, where he has testified in several courts.
“My job,” Vic says, “is to ensure the client is provided with the information they need to make well-informed decisions about how best to care for their trees.”
For decades Vic has volunteered for the City of Grand Rapids Urban Forest Project, for the ISA Michigan Chapter, the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association, The Land Conservancy, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Isle Royale and Keweenaw (National) Parks Association.
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“I think my grandfather would be pleased with the career path I took, and equally surprised at where that path has led me – much like the paths of those northern woods he allowed me to wander as a child.
What a privilege it is to spend my days in such a manner and serve those who want what’s best for their trees and for their land.”
