18
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
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November/December 2018
Most of the trees throughout the grounds were pruned this year as part
of the regular maintenance program for the foundation's trees. Seattle's
iconic Space Needle is visible in the background of this photo.
BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION IS A CHERISHED CLIENT
Sometimes our crews work on properties that fill them
with a sense of pride knowing that they care for the trees.
For the Northwest Seattle R/C office, the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation is one such property.
For the past five years, the Northwest Seattle office has
had the privilege of working on some of the foundation's
most cherished trees.
Jay Maize, assistant district manager, said the work done
at the foundation this year was standard tree care. Davey
provided deep-root fertilization for all the trees on the
property. The crews also pruned most of the trees throughout
the grounds with a standard crown cleaning and thinning.
Crews also have done reduction pruning on ash trees in
the foundation's courtyard, which are in planter boxes, said
Michael Spaulding, sales arborist. The goal is to keep them
from growing too large for their containers.
The property itself and the protocols the crews need to
follow make working at the foundation unique, Maize said.
"The protocols you need to go through, from checking-in
in the morning and the whole badge process, makes
you feel like it's a little more important than your average
job," Maize said.
Spaulding enjoys working on the foundation's trees
because of what the foundation stands for and its
overwhelming generosity.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is "guided by the
belief that every life has equal value," according to the
foundation's website. The foundation works to help people
live their lives to the fullest potential. The foundation's trust
endowment is $40.3 billion and has provided total grant
pay outs of $41.3 billion since its inception.
"Seeing all of the beneficial projects they are working on
locally and their humanitarian aid, they are very generous
with their funds," Spaulding said.
The crew members are proud of the work that they do,
especially if they have been there more than once,
Maize said.
"It's a pretty coveted place to be and we feel privileged
to be there," Spaulding said.
VISION
