The Davey Tree Expert Company
P.O. Box 5193
Kent, Ohio 44240-5193
O
ne-fifth of the world's forests call Russia home.
Last fall, Joe Gregory, assistant manager of
Davey Resource Group's natural resource consulting,
traveled to Russia to participate in a cultural exchange.
Davey client Tree Pittsburgh, a non-profit that
advocates and supports urban forestry, received a
grant to fund the trip and present urban forestry
strategies in Russian communities.
During the 12-day trip, Gregory and Tree
Pittsburgh representatives traveled to four Russian
cities to present urban greening, urban forest master
planning and applied urban forestry concepts.
"The language barrier was an initial concern, but
the 'language' of trees provided a natural, powerful
way to connect with my Russian colleagues," Gregory
explains. "I feel lucky to work in such a special industry
where our values of trees can transcend cultures."
When Gregory arrived in Perm, he visited a log
sculpture in an urban park [pictured]. The sculpture
represents the letter "P" in the Cyrillic alphabet for the
City of Perm, an area known for its forestry industry.
There's No Language
Barrier When It
Comes to Trees
Davey Around
the World
Representatives from Russia's urban forestry program paid Davey Resource Group a visit after
Gregory's return. Pictured left to right, front row: Andrei Zelenin, City of Perm; Aleksandr
Romanov, Perm Staten Agricultural Academy; Alexandra Kluczarov, administrative assistant, DRG;
Iliusa Zbrueva, City of Perm; Svetlana Kulakova, Perm State University; Elena Pleshkova,
Obviskaya Rosa; Joe Gregory, assistant manager of DRG's natural resource consulting; and Justin
Stratton, IT supervisor, DRG; back row: Aleksey Shaposhnikov, creator of online crowdsourcing
platform StreetJournal.org; Matt Erb, Tree Pittsburgh; Al Zelaya, research forester, Davey Institute;
Karen Wise, manager of DRG's natural resource consulting; and Brent Repenning, vice president
and general manager of DRG.
