September/October 2016 | The Davey Bulletin 9
At the Milwaukee County Zoo,
Davey's Milwaukee, Wisconsin, R/C
office sent a crew to participate in
a day of service. Davey, along with
other volunteers from the Wisconsin
Arborist Association, thinned canopies
and pruned branches throughout the
200-acre zoo. The wood waste from
the day was milled into lumber on
the grounds and used elsewhere in
the zoo.
DAY OF SERVICE FOR MILWAUKEE ZOO
Overall, arborists contributed about
$50,000 worth of services to the zoo
in March.
"Participating in events for the
public like this is as important to the
crews as it is to the event," Chuck
Shouse, district manager of the
Milwaukee R/C office, said. "It builds
a sense of company pride that helps
with morale."
Davey employees love to educate
the public about trees no matter the
audience age or setting.
Debbie Miller, senior plant pathologist
at the Davey Institute, fully embodies
this passion to educate. In addition to
a master's degree in plant pathology,
Miller also has a master's in education.
In her first career she worked as a
teacher and as a university instructor
and has continued to enjoy educating
Davey employees and the public
during her 14-year career at Davey.
Knowing Miller's exceptional resume,
Todd Sherbondy, district manager at
the East Pittsburgh R/C office, asked
her to present to more than 200
fifth- and sixth-grade students at a
Science Olympiad event at Kiski Area
Upper Elementary School in Apollo,
Pennsylvania. Todd brought his 8-year-
old daughter Alivia to the event as she
loves trees and science.
"Dr. Debbie, the tree doctor, presented
her scientific approach to tree biology
and diagnosing tree problems,"
'DR. DEBBIE' TEACHES TREE HEALTH CARE
Davey climber Jake Palasz during the
day of service.
Sherbondy said. But Miller's lesson
was far from ordinary.
She brought tree branches, conks and
mushrooms to use as props during
her live presentations, during which
student volunteers performed different
tree scenarios.
In one scenario, a student acted as a
healthy tree while another volunteer
pretended to mow grass around the
base. Accidently getting too close, the
mower struck and wounded the tree
trunk. This scenario simulated how
wounds to the bark can permit entry
of wood rot fungi. Another student
then held a conk up to the wounded
area of the tree, demonstrating that
the tree became infected by a fungus.
An imaginary storm rumbled in and
caused the student to physically fall
over like a failed tree.
"It was a lot of fun," Miller said.
"The interactive scenarios helped the
students visualize what was happening
to the tree and how to prevent damage
to healthy trees."
Davey's Debbie Miller, senior plant
pathologist at the Davey Institute, posed
for a picture with East Pittsburgh R/C
District Manager Todd Sherbondy's
daughter Alivia. Miller presented at
a STEM (Science, Technology and Math)
Science Olympiad event.
