The locally owned tree care company, Canopy LLC, specializes in all things trees. With its team of experienced arborists, the Canopy crew brings a deep sense of connectedness with all things rooted in the ground spending each day doing what they truly love.
Canopy is committed to delivering skilled and passionate care to trees in the communities of Southern Oregon. 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 requires removal, Canopy offers a complete range of tree care options and looks forward to being of service. 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.
Christopher, thanks for speaking with us today and congratulations on your continued service here in Southern Oregon.
Thank you, it’s a pleasure.
This past year Canopy experienced some significant growth. Please tell us about it.
Yes, it’s been a fun ride the last few years. We do most of our work in Ashland and really enjoy being engaged part of the community. We’ve been able to grow and hire some great new people as well as stand back and watch as our longer-term employees flourish. It’s such a pleasure to come to work everyday with our team.Most of our business comes from word-of-mouth referrals. When someone hires us to work on their trees, they are essentially inviting us into their homes and entrusting us with something they most likely 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 saw dust is cleaned up. I think this attitude of service and gratitude goes a long way and has allowed us to meet some really great people.
On a more nuts and bolts note, we have been able to add to our equipment capacity, enabling us to what we do more efficiently and safely. You may have seen our bucket truck surrounded by our team passing out trees in the Festival of Lights Parade…what fun!
Christopher, customer service and a positive work culture has been a top priority in the growing and shaping of your company. Please say more.
Being fellow small business owners, many of your readers can attest to the fact that relinquishing control of “your baby” can being be challenging to say the least. Trusting others to carry on and do great work without your finger on every detail is necessary in order for them to grow and for the business to be of greater service. Facilitating a workplace where people feel valued, cared for, and are given opportunities to grow and earn that trust is rapidly becoming one of the most important aspects of my job. Being passionate and knowledgeable about trees, having great personal relationships (i.e. customer service), and being deft with a chainsaw at 100’, is a unique and demanding skillset. Our success is built on our ability to do all of it very well. If I can in some way facilitate opportunities for people to develop this skill set while being part of a great team, well then, it’s been time well spent.
And…forgive the shameless plug, but we are currently accepting resumes.
Would you mind sharing some recent testimonials with us that speak to these qualities?
Sure. We get these often and I keep a folder of them in my desk. I consider them a kind of report card as to how we are doing as a company and really appreciate them. Best of all, most of them these days speak to the work of the team.
“Many thanks to all of you for the tree work you did for us. You are a great crew – creative, skillful, strong, nimble – like intrepid Tree Ninjas!” – Olive
“Thank you for excellent and professional service, and please extend my warm appreciation to Katie (our office manager extraordinaire) and your crew!” – Helena
“Trees look great and your crew was professional and good to have work here – a really good group of people.” – Larry
“Your team is really amazing. Customer service was a joy to be around. Always so thoughtful. Thank you!”
– Kris
Christopher, can you please give us an overview of the services currently being provided by Canopy?
Pruning: My personal 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: Sometimes they just need to go. Unfortunately, we have been experiencing a significant amount of beetle-killed trees lately, especially birches and our native pines and fir trees. Enter equipment and expertise. 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 certain conifers can pose a wildfire risk to homes and properties. We can help assess risk in the event of a fire 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 in the Firewise Communities program. We do what we can in support of these efforts.
Consultation and Risk Assessment: 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.
Christopher, what are some of the biggest mistakes you see customers making when approaching tree care?
Please oh please don’t top your tree!
On a more serious note, working on trees is one of the most dangerous weekend activities you can engage in. When in doubt, call a professional. It doesn’t have to be us, but please know when to ask for help.
Are there any last thoughts or comments you would like to share with our readers?
We so grateful to call this place home. Ashland has been such a supportive community for us both professionally and personally. My wife, Tracy, also co-owns a small business here (Flipside Studios), and it has been an ideal place to raise our two (now teenage) daughters. Thank you!
Learn More:
Canopy LLC
P.O. Box 3511
Ashland, OR 97520
www.canopyarborcare.com
(541) 631-8000
