Davey Tree Flipbooks

25 November/December 2021 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN ROLLIN' THE ROCKIES The 2021 Tour des Trees tested riders' mettle as the annual fundraiser for the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund visited the Rocky Mountains. Several of Davey's Colorado Residential/Commercial (R/C) services offices provided support for this year's "Rollin' the Rockies" ride, for which Davey is also a tour sponsor as part of the company's annual gift to the TREE Fund. Kevin Marks, market manager, South Central operating group, said employees from the Fort Collins and North Denver office volunteered to provide a sugar maple tree and assist with its planting when the tour riders stopped at Colorado State University. The East Denver, North Denver, South Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins offices all signed on as sponsors for this year's ride, including for a welcome dinner on the first night of the tour. "We were psyched to have the riders come through Colorado. Boulder is a huge bicycling town," Marks said. "This year was particularly challenging here for them Davey participants who rode in the 2021 Tour des Trees Rollin' the Rockies included Don Roppolo, Cindy Schwab, Laurie Skul and Tom Wolf (retiree). Jeffrey Carney participated as a virtual rider. The tour took place from Aug. 28 through Sept. 3, traversing the mountains of Colorado, and included a Davey-sponsored tree planting at Colorado State University (pictured). because it was incredibly smoky here because of the wildfires out West. So, they were coming up to elevation and then had to deal with hazy air." INSPECTING GROVE OF COAST LIVE OAKS BY HORSEBACK During the restorative work, they didn't use large equipment around the oaks to preserve their root systems and to keep pollution out of the grove. The goal is to keep the grove as natural as possible without the use of mulch, pesticides and herbicides. Michael Hyatt's tools are sterilized before he goes to the grove, even the bottoms of his boots. "It's so important because I go all over the Bay Area and I don't want to bring disease in," Hyatt said. The horse pictured is not Hyatt's. The client loans him a horse to make the trip up to the grove. The trees in the background (top right) are the grove of coast live oaks. PERSEVERANCE Up in the Santa Cruz mountains about 75 miles south of Santa Cruz, California, resides a grove of coast live oaks that is only accessible by horseback. Michael Hyatt, sales arborist, San Francisco Residential/Commercial office, has the privilege of caring for this grove of roughly 75 trees. The oldest trees in the grove are about 150 years old. "The first time I went to the grove, it was a powerful, ma- jestic experience," he said. "You could feel the wisdom and strength as you walked into it. I knew I had to work on these trees." About 12 years ago, the client purchased the property, which operates as a small ranch. The grove was filled with old farm debris and overgrown with non-native species. Crews went into the grove and cleared out the non-native species to bring the grove back to its former, natural glory. Hyatt inspects the grove every two to three years for disease, dead limbs, non-native species and prunes if needed. It's usually a two-day excursion. "I totally enjoy the ride through there," Hyatt said. "It's fun going back up there to look at the progress and offer recommendations. The client loves this grove and feels it's important to keep this grove healthy for future generations."

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