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Safety is Paramount in Tree Service - Trust the ISA Certified arborists at Alexander Tree Care. Proudly Serving Newmarket, Aurora, Keswick, Richmond Hill, Bradford, King City and more

Safety is Paramount in Tree Service

Safety is important in all lines of work, but especially important when you are an arborist and in the tree service industry.  At Alexander Tree Care in Newmarket, we place a high value on safe work practices.  Various steps are taken to ensure workplace safety for our team and our clients’ property.

During tree pruning and tree removal work especially, there are many tasks that could result in injuries and personal property losses. If you choose to work with an inexperienced arborist, you risk not only damage to your property, but also a possible injury issue with the arborist themselves.

A Risk Assessment is Completed Before Work Begins

Before we begin a project, we perform a risk assessment and thorough inspection of the job site to ensure adequate clearances are maintained from:

  • parked vehicles,
  • buildings,
  • fences,
  • sheds,
  • gas meters,
  • high phase electrical lines
  • and any other above ground utility line.

We then move all the customer’s outdoor items such as:

  • light fixtures,
  • bird baths,
  • bird feeders,
  • barbeques,
  • outdoor furniture,
  • and any other landscape features and/or ornaments that could be damaged with tree work.

The same care is taken with respect to any neighbour’s property that may be in close proximity to the work site.

Special Care & Scheduling in School Zones and Public Areas

When working near schools and other public areas, we schedule the critical work during times when pedestrian traffic flow is minimal. We also create a safe work zone area including signage, safety cones and/or a member of the crew directing traffic and pedestrian flow.

When chipping tree branches we also secure the area with cones and signage and all vehicles in proximity are moved to avoid damage from flying debris.

High Visibility Clothing at All Times: You Can’t Miss Us!

The crew at Alexander Tree Care will always be wearing high visible clothing and the required personal protective gear. Our crew members will be in constant communication with each other during work activity. All crew members will have training, knowledge and the appropriate skill level to perform specific work safely and effectively.

A clear understanding of the work to be carried out is communicated between the crew members, the customer and, if necessary, the neighbours of the customer.

All equipment is checked and maintained regularly to ensure they are operating optimally and safely. Damaged equipment is immediately repaired or replaced. We are a full-service tree service company and have a full repertoire or tools and equipment to get the job done efficiently and effectively. We assess the tree work beforehand so we know exactly what equipment needs to be onsite, so there is no downtime to the client in having to return another day with different equipment.

Awareness of weather conditions plays an important part in undertaking the work safely to prevent slips and falls. No tree work will be carried out during severe inclement weather such as lightning storms.  It’s simply safer for everyone involved, and we will happily reschedule the tree services at a new time that suits you.

We Are Fully Insured & Covered by WSIB, So You Don’t Have to Worry!

Alexander Tree Care is fully insured and covered by WSIB. We take pride in our skilled and highly trained crew members. We really make this as easy as possible on our clients, giving you peace of mind. Whether it’s for tree pruning, tree removal, tree planting, or any other tree service, you can rest assured that we will do it safely.

Alexander Tree Care Provides On-site Estimates Free of Charge

Take the time to meet with our ISA Certified Arborist with years of experience and qualifications. Alexander Tree Care provides a variety of services including tree and shrub removals, emergency removals, trimming, pruning, planting, hedge clipping, stump grinding and tree health care. Alexander Tree Care services Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughan, Bradford, Holland Landing, East Gwillimbury, Keswick, Georgina, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Schomberg, King City, King Township and Toronto. You can find us on Facebook, Homestars, and The 3 Best Tree Services in Newmarket or click here to contact us.

Till next time,

Alexander

 

Benefits of Adding Woodchips to Trees

Benefits of Adding Woodchips to Trees

Benefits of Adding Woodchips

 

There are many benefits of adding woodchips to your trees.  Woodchips help retain soil moisture. They decompose over time which results in nutrient leaching. They also help smother any weeds or invasive plants that might sprout up.  Before adding woodchips, it is always a good idea to aerate the tree root zone. This will improve leaching and supply more oxygen to the roots.  The presence of oxygen will encourage more growth.

Wrongly Placed Woodchips Can Be Detrimental

All this seems very beneficial for the tree. However, in the urban landscape we see trees that have an excessive amount of woodchips mounded around the root zone and tree trunk.  When woodchips are in direct contact with the tree trunk for an extended period of time, the moisture from the woodchips can cause rot in the tree trunk. This can cause the tree to decline and die.

Mushrooms or fruiting bodies are an indication of decay.  Be sure to examine your trees for these indicators. You can prevent premature decline and trunk rot by carefully spreading the woodchips around the root zone and not around the trunk in a saucer-like fashion.

Trees definitely benefit from woodchips when applied correctly.  The moisture retention and steady organic leaching will keep your tree healthy and vigorous for seasons to come.

Soil Compaction Affects Trees

Another overlooked landscape issue that dramatically affects trees is soil compaction.  Often in urban landscapes factors like human foot traffic, torrential rain down pours, construction and heavy machinery can all contribute to soil compaction.  When the soil becomes compacted, water and nutrients can’t percolate through the soil. As a result, the soil is left dry and without minerals.  Tree roots also have a harder time pushing through the soil which creates stress to the tree.

Prevent Soil Compaction with Tree Protection Zones (T.P.Z.) During Construction

These conditions, if left unattended, will cause the tree to slowly decline.  A common way to protect tree root zones from construction is to set up a Tree Protection Zone (T.P.Z.). This is a fenced off area in which heavy equipment and machinery will not pass over.  Heavy machinery compacts soil to an extreme and can even crush root tissues.

If you have questions about the health of your trees, please contact our experts at Alexander Tree Care today.

You can find us on Facebook, or click here to contact us.

Till next time,

Alexander