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Health & Fitness

Tree Companies Go Out on a Limb for Arbor Day

The Seacoast Arborist Collaborative celebrated Arbor Day by donating services to help care for trees in Fort Foster, in Kittery Point.

KITTERY, Maine — Friday, April 26, was Arbor Day, and what better reason for local tree companies to honor Arbor Day than through volunteering to take care of the city’s green giants?

The Seacoast Arborist Collaborative, a four-company group that includes Cornerstone Tree Care and Piscataqua Tree Care, celebrated Arbor Day by donating services— which it has done for the last five years — to help care for trees in a public park. This year’s event took place at Fort Foster, in Kittery Point. Eight internationally certified arborists from the four companies were present and available for questions throughout the park that day.

People attending the event watched the work unfold and learned something about the newest techniques and information in the field of arboriculture and the diverse trees that scatter our coastal landscape.

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Started in 1872, nationally celebrated Arbor Day is a time to recognize the beauty and importance of trees, prompting both individuals and organizations to not only plant and care for trees on that day, but also all year-round.

“It’s our way of giving back to our community,” said Chris Kemp of Piscataqua Tree Care. “We formed the group called the Seacoast Arborist Collaborative. We all live and work on the Seacoast. Yes, we do all compete against each other. But most importantly, we share the same passion for trees, a passion that has helped forge a friendship among the companies. And above it all, we have a healthy and respectful competition.”

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The Organic Arborist of Kittery and Northeast Shade Tree are the other two members of the Seacoast Arborist Collaborative.

Micum Davis of Cornerstone Tree Care was the driving force behind getting local arborists to volunteer on Arbor Day. His inspiration came from simply walking around Portsmouth and seeing many damaged and diseased trees in various parks and public spaces. "I thought it would be cool to get a group of arborists together to prune and care for these trees that the city simply didn't have the funding to take care of," Davis explained.

This year, the companies brought their crews and equipment — chippers, bucket trucks and climbers with their ropes and saddles — to Fort Foster. Their primary goal: to prune the trees for health and safety, such as removing dead limbs and structural pruning.

“One can always find a tree that needs pruning, not only in the Portsmouth’s old parks with their historic trees, but also across the river in Fort Foster,” said Kemp. “We are all too familiar with how budget constraints limit the ability of the state and municipalities to adequately care for public trees. As arborists, we recognize this problem. We know that these large trees add to the beauty of our parks, and without these trees, the public places wouldn’t be as inviting.”

Kemp added: “The Seacoast, its parks and public trees, give so much to the experience of living here. Why not give back to this great community by volunteering to care for its trees?”

The Beach Pea Bakery bought the tree care workers breakfast, and Serenity Cafe provided them with lunch. At the end of Arbor Day, when the last piece of brush was chipped, the saws were all put away and the lawns raked, the volunteers were hosted for dinner by The Black Birch of Kittery. So not only did the four companies collectively donate $8,000 to $10,000 worth of tree care services, but the three establishments took care of 12 to 15 hungry — and at the end of the day — tired tree guys.

Piscataqua Tree Care and Cornerstone Tree Care practice sustainability in other ways, as they both are business partners of the Green Alliance, a union of local sustainable businesses promoting environmentally sound business practices and a green co-op offering discounted green products and services to its members.

Piscataqua Tree Care gives Green Alliance members a complimentary tree and shrub inspection and 10 percent off all tree work, fertilizing and pest control. Dollar discounts include a $60 value on inspection, up to $100 off on tree work, up to $25 on fertilizer and up to $25 off pest control services.

Cornerstone Tree Care’s GA discount provides a 10 percent discount on tree work with no upper limit. Save $100 on a $1,000 job and $1,000 on a $10,000 job.

For more information about Piscataqua Tree Care, visit www.suntreecorp.com. For Cornerstone, visit www.cornerstonetree.com. And for the Green Alliance, visit and www.greenalliance.biz.

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