Questions for Canadian Arborists from the UK

[Blue_Pine]

I have a small tree service business in the UK and have always looked at tree work online coming from Canadians (and Americans).

If I can generalise, your country is just so much bigger and urban areas have more space- the properties and gardens aren't as congested as the small terraced housing we have here.

A lot of my time is spent removing or reducing Leylandii cypress trees (one of the most common tree jobs) and tons of trimming hedges and shrubs as well to bulk out the calendar. We do get big proper trees to work on as well and I look forward to doing big technical removals and rigging when those jobs come up.

There is possibly a grass is greener type thing going on, but I can't help but feel I might like to live and work in Canada some day and anyone doing tree work there I would appreciate if you could answer a few questions-

• What kind of work do you mostly do? From youtube etc it looks like there's often removals, and pruning generally isn't whole crown reductions like we do here but selectively pruning odd branches and removing deadwood
• Can you mechanise most jobs? It's hard for me to use loaders/skidsteers here because of access but it seems like you can often bring them in to the larger gardens you have, which I think would be nice
• What do you do with the material? I can get rid of woodchip for free at allotments or composting sites. Logs I either keep for my own firewood, putting a notice online and getting the public to pick them up is also common. Green waste (hedge clippings etc) I have to pay to dump at the composting site, it isn't cheap.
• What are the federal/provincial/local laws and regulations like for doing tree work where you are, are they restrictive or okay to deal with?

Any information would be appreciated, probably more interested in middle-Eastern provinces, thanks.

 

[Njdelaney]

I'm going to hazard a guess that nobody thinks they would rather be doing tons of hedges and working on Leyland Cypress hahaha

 

[Blue_Pine]

I'm going to hazard a guess that nobody thinks they would rather be doing tons of hedges and working on Leyland Cypress hahaha

It's a sad life man

 

[Boomslang]

I have a small tree service business in the UK and have always looked at tree work online coming from Canadians (and Americans).

Online videos and photos are curated for views. No one is watching hedging videos therefore no one posts them.

If I can generalise, your country is just so much bigger and urban areas have more space- the properties and gardens aren't as congested as the small terraced housing we have here.

We have so much space unless you're in the cores of older towns and cities. Then it's more similar to the UK where you need to remove a 300 year old oak tree growing in the space of a pickup truck.

There is possibly a grass is greener type thing going on, but I can't help but feel I might like to live and work in Canada some day and anyone doing tree work there I would appreciate if you could answer a few questions-

Come for a working holiday and test the waters!

• What kind of work do you mostly do? From youtube etc it looks like there's often removals, and pruning generally isn't whole crown reductions like we do here but selectively pruning odd branches and removing deadwood

Mostly removals where I am. Second, would be hedges. Third, pruning. Then very little bits of everything else.

• Can you mechanise most jobs? It's hard for me to use loaders/skidsteers here because of access but it seems like you can often bring them in to the larger gardens you have, which I think would be nice

Many times yes, but there are still many scenarios where it's impossible or impractical such as narrow gates, landscaped yards (i.e. garden beds and/or other permanent features).

• What do you do with the material? I can get rid of woodchip for free at allotments or composting sites. Logs I either keep for my own firewood, putting a notice online and getting the public to pick them up is also common. Green waste (hedge clippings etc) I have to pay to dump at the composting site, it isn't cheap.

This varies heavily by location. Some urban area have free compost sites, other places you pay to take it all to the dump. You can usually find someone local to take wood chips for their gardens. Many people still burn wood so quality firewood is easy to offload. Junk wood can be difficult. I'm fortunate to be in an area where I've never had to pay to dump.

• What are the federal/provincial/local laws and regulations like for doing tree work where you are, are they restrictive or okay to deal with?

The only federal regulations would be for wood potentially infested with invasive pests (EAB, Asian long horn beetle, etc.) and those are only to do with transporting material outside of quarantined areas.

I believe BC would have the most strict provincial regulations in regards to training and safety, but it's not terribly restrictive.

Municipalities set there own tree by-laws, so that varies on a case by case basis, but from what I've seen most places don't have much in place.

Any information would be appreciated, probably more interested in middle-Eastern provinces, thanks.

I'm east cost, so not where your focused on, but the Facebook group Canadian Arborists is a good place to ask. This forum is heavily American dominated.

 

[Mick Dempsey!]

How old are you @Blue_Pine?

I’m not in the US or Canada so don’t expect any advice from me.
But I did work in the UK so I understand your pain about Leylandii reductions and the desire to do more “pure” tree work.