Interviews

Canopy LLC The Care of Trees

Now celebrating their 6th year in Southern Oregon, Canopy takes pride in providing all of their customers with the best possible customer service and craftsmanship. Its team of experienced arborists spends each day doing what they truly love and bring a deep sense of connectedness with all things rooted in the ground. 

Canopy is committed to delivering skilled and passionate care to trees in the communities of Southern Oregon and look forward to being of service. Their aim is to provide your home with increased safety, health, and beauty. Whether your trees are in need of pruning, have health issues, or require removal, Canopy offers a complete range of tree care options. Canopy is fully licensed, bonded, insured, and certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). 

In today’s interview we spoke with Canopy owner, Christopher John to learn more about the care of trees.

Hi Chris, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today and welcome back. 

Thank you, it’s always a pleasure.

Please catch us up to speed on the status of Canopy LLC.

Well, we have become a tight-knit team of nine and have served over 500 clients in 2018 – two things I am continually floored by, and grateful for.

Chris, you have worked for many years to deliver the best services possible with Canopy. Please talk more about the vision of your company that you have sought to achieve.

 When someone hires us to work on his or her trees, they are essentially inviting us into their homes and entrusting us with something they often have an emotional attachment to. Our goal is that every client should be left feeling good with not only our work, but with every interaction they have with us from the first phone call to when the last bit of sawdust is cleaned up. I think this attitude of service and gratitude goes a long way and has allowed us to serve an increasing amount of people (and trees).

Having a talented and strong team makes all this possible. Tell us a bit more about the Canopy crew.

I think it all starts with a passion for trees and genuine desire to be masters at the craft of caring for them. This covers a great deal of ground. Our arborists must be proficient at working at heights, current on safety practices, learned in the science of trees, possess a 6th sense and an artistic eye, physically endure grueling conditions, and have the character to do it all with a smile. We are constantly learning, listening, and teaching.

I couldn’t be happier with or prouder of the men and women of Canopy with whom I get to go to work with every day. They are an extension of our mission as a company and everything good we have to offer. Above all, they are outstanding human beings.

Over the past years Canopy has developed a very strong reputation for itself. What are some of the comments you hear coming your way?

I am especially proud of the feedback we receive. It is our report card of sorts and every one of us is responsible for the grade we receive. We place a great deal of importance on it. The relationships we have with clients and the way in which we approach and perform tree care are the most important aspects of what we do. It allows us to continue to do the work we love and quite simply, to be good people.

Below are a few recent comments:

“Dear neighbors, I’m writing to thank you all for your efforts in advancing our participation in the FireWise program. We were delighted with your choice of tree service. The entire Canopy crew was punctual, courteous, accommodating, and efficient. Our property looks much better and we feel more secure.”  

“The guys did a fantastic job, were efficient and professional. The cleanup was amazing. We’ve worked with lots of contractors and crews, and your team was definitely the best we’ve dealt with. We’ll definitely be contacting you for further maintenance on our trees!” 

“Before any more time goes by, I wanted to send a very sincere thank you to you, Chris, Jamie and every member of the Canopy Team for a wonderful job done.  We are very grateful to have your help caring for our trees.” 

“To a person, my fellow owners have stopped me to say how interesting it was to watch the cottonwood come down today; what a great job the guys did; and to mention their great attitudes. Thank you again.  We look forward to working with you for years to come.” 

“I just am so pleased with the work your crew did at my place! It really exceeded my expectations… You are all are so nice to boot :)” 

Christopher what services is Canopy currently providing to its customers?

We do all things trees:

Pruning: Always a favorite. We specialize in the fine pruning of large and small trees. Pruning can revive and beautify mature trees, set young trees on the path to optimal health and longevity. A proper pruning can transform the look and feel of a landscape, home, or neighborhood and can truly be…a work of art.

Removals and stump grinding:  Sometimes they just need to go. Unfortunately, we have been experiencing a significant number of beetle-killed trees lately, especially birches and our native pines and fir trees. While we genuinely appreciate trees, we also have a thing for chainsaws and are adept at using them. Much of the firewood from removals is donated to the Jackson County Fuelwood Committee. Thank you JCFC for the awesome service you provide to families in need!

Planting:  It sure feels good to plant a tree after spending time removing them! We can offer advice on what and where to plant, then select, deliver, and plant a large-stock tree of your choice. We source most all of our planted trees from another great local business, Plant Oregon in Talent.

Fire Fuels Reduction:  Dead trees and other “ladder fuels” can pose a risk to homes. We can help assess risk and establish a “defensible space” around homes. The Ashland Fire Department has made great strides in the effort to protect our communities and provide a great resource through the Firewise Communities program. We do what we can in support of these efforts.

Consultation:  Another favorite activity is walking and talking trees with clients. We offer informal consultations as well as arborist reports, which are often required as part of tree permit removal process, for protecting trees, for construction and landscape planning, for legal documentation, etc.

Risk Assessment: I am a qualified Tree Risk Assessor (TRAQ), which helps when asking the question: “should I be worried about my tree?” Big trees falling on houses are dramatic and unfortunate. These incidents are also relatively rare. TRAQ offers a systematic lens through which to assess risk and advise on the often-difficult judgement-call of whether or not a tree should be removed. I find that more often than not, risk can be mitigated through other measures such as pruning and/or cabling.

Plant Health Care: Why are my leaves sticky? What is that orange dust? Why are those branches dying?  We love getting to the bottom of these questions and more. We have a plethora of tools in our bag to treat all manner of insect, fungal, bacterial, and cultural issues affecting the health of trees.

Wood Milling: We recently added a small wood mill to our repertoire. It has enabled us to make the most of removed trees by turning them into beautiful pieces of wood.

Let’s talk more about fire suppression. What tips can you offer to our readers that they can do themselves? When should they consider hiring a professional to come in and help?

My parents lost their home in a wildfire. It was devastating for them. After our smoky summers and last year’s disastrous season, the topic of fire is seemingly on everyone’s mind these days. And it should be. The effort to lower our fire risk will be herculean, generational, and community-wide. I’m not an alarmist, and you certainly don’t have to hire us to get the work done, but let’s start. Contact the Ashland Fire Department about their Firewise program.

Properly caring for your trees can also increase the value of your home. Is that right? 

The presence of trees has been linked to reduced crime rates, shorter hospital stays, greater productivity, and reduced energy costs, to name a few. Then there’s that whole oxygen thing. And yes, the presence of well cared for trees, or a single specimen tree, can increase property values upwards of 15-20%. I have heard time and again from clients that a major reason for them buying a certain house was the presence of a special tree. 

 
Christopher, are there any last thoughts or comments you would like to share with our readers? 


Thank you for allowing us to be of service, Ashland! 

 

Learn More:
Canopy
www.CanopyArborcare.com
(541) 631-8000

 

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Chris John

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