13
May/June 2021
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
HELPING LOW-INCOME
FAMILIES IN OKLAHOMA CITY
The Davey Tree Surgery Company partnered with
Oklahoma City to trim or remove hazard trees at no cost
to low-income families for the NeighborWoods Hazardous
Tree Removal Program.
Davey Surgery has offered its services to the
NeighborWoods program since 2014. To qualify for the
work, property owners must apply, and a city forester
assesses the applicant's trees. The city then approves
the properties in dire need of tree work due to safety
concerns. The hazard trees are typically dead, dying,
uprooted or leaning over homes, fences and electrical lines.
Crew members Gustavo Sanchez, general foreman, Jose
Pinedo, foreman, Jose Munoz, foreman, and David Campos,
foreman, started making their way through a list of 40
locations assigned to them. Additional tree work was
added to their list when an ice storm hit Oklahoma City at
the end of 2020.
"The members of this crew have a lot of years of
experience, especially with storm work," Sanchez said.
"They have great communication and know how to handle
complicated removals. They are always asking each other
if they are comfortable with the plan to remove the tree
and what they can do to support each other during the
job. They work great as a team."
When the ice storm and snow hit, the crew continued
to work on the hazard trees.
"The city gave us the OK to work every day," Sanchez
said. "We worked from the bucket on those snowy and
icy days instead of doing removals that required climbing.
We took the extra time we needed to stay safe and there
were no incidents."
Sanchez enjoys doing the hazard tree work because he
likes interacting with the property owners.
"You see the excitement in the faces of the people you're
helping, and they appreciate what you're doing for them,"
Sanchez said. "They thank you for helping them at almost
every single property. You feel good when you've completed
the work to make the property safer and you feel like
you've done something worthwhile."
Above: Davey partnered with Oklahoma City's Neighborwoods to help
the city's low-income families who can't afford hazard tree removals.
Inset: Gustavo Sanchez, general foreman, worked with his crew
for the entire job because many of these removals were complex
and required adjustments to their initial plans.
