INTEGRATING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES INTO REAL ECONOMIES
SavATree Consulting Group is a US company that presents its focus areas of activity as “Tree Preservation, Planning and Consulting”. As the name indicates, the company is at the forefront of arborist services. Its environmental policy, established in 1985, indicates that the company “proudly provides stewardship for over 50,000 properties throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West regions, promoting a sustainable landscape and the unique relationship between people and their surroundings”. Alongside broad environmental objectives, the company also declares that it “adheres to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) procedures and promotes cultural, biological and organic program options,” and that it “manages land, water, and timber resources in an environmentally sensitive manner”. These declarations go beyond what is typically done by other companies offering arborist services, the name obliges. SavATree employees are actively involved in research on urban ecosystem services, and in particular on the importance of urban trees.
The specific services offered by the SavATree Consulting Group include:
• tree inventories
• landscape evaluation (with a focus on trees, shrubs and plantings)
• tree risk assessments
• multi-year plans (large-scale landscape architecture projects)
• tree preservation planning during construction at all stages of construction projects
• tree appraisal (estimating the monetary value of trees for the purposes of property valuation and other business and legal reasons)
• development of bid specifications on behalf of the clients
Such a comprehensive offer and a focus on environmental responsibility and tree preservation is what differentiates the SavATree Consulting Group from most other companies operating in this market. The company runs its own environmental education program focusing on why and how to manage and protect trees. When presenting the rationale for such activities, the company does not only focus on practical benefits (such as increased property value achieved because of trees), but also on less tangible spiritual, community, and ecological values. The company also understands its own dependence on a healthy urban forest.
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