You cannot get away from it these days. Everywhere you turn, it’s out there looming: climate change, divisiveness, recession, negative stories all over the media—the world is coming apart at the seams. What can you do to make an impact?
These are the things that Matt and Adena Shepayo of Preservation Tree Care have been considering. These are the things they decided to push back against using their organization as the tool to make a change in the world. Since its inception in 2003, Preservation Tree Care has been an organization committed to educating its clients and the public about proper tree care, which allows people to make sound decisions when managing their trees.
“These values have driven them to find solutions to the changing environment.”
Founder and President Matt Shepayo has a passion for trees that has him creating a space where arborists can grow and thrive and give back to the community. Adena found her own drive to develop the culture of PTC into a place where people can work together in harmony through the organization’s core values. Two of their core values, “Come with a solution” and “Leave it better than how you found it,” are exactly what they are doing to make an impact on our environment. “Through proper fire mitigation and diversifying the forest, we have an opportunity to influence the community and the environment,” says Matt. “By living our values and educating others, we can make a change through our efforts. We believe in dealing direct, saying it straight with kindness, and doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.” More of their core values. These values have driven them to find solutions to the changing environment.
“Since we’re giving off more and more CO2 these days, we asked ourselves, what could we do to make a difference?” Matt says. Adena had the thought of starting a movement that people could easily get behind. “Reducing temperatures through planting trees and improving top soil health are two simple actions that people can take to sequester more carbon, and we can help,” she says. One handful of healthy top soil contains more microorganisms than there are humans on the planet, and improving the top soil is simple. Planting trees will bring more carbon into the top soil which will stimulate the growth of microbial communities. But that’s not the only way to make healthier top soil capable of improving our climate. Much of our top soil has been degraded by deforestation, forest fires and construction activity. Through aeration and the addition of microbiology, our top soil can be brought back to health. This can be done easily through the addition of specific elements in liquid form or through mixing in the right type of compost. “We watched as our top soil improved over the past five years through consistent addition of organic fertilizers that we blended for this area,” Adena adds, about their 100-year-old farmhouse that was left in poor condition when they got their hands on it.
“Our philosophy in managing trees is a commonsense approach that includes the use of IPM (Integrated Pest Management),” Matt says. IPM starts by inspecting and correctly identifying all trees on site, noting their location and surrounding environment, and recording any issues that could pose a threat to them. “We listen to our clients about what their goals are and educate them on the potential for improvement or decline of the property. We put preventative measures in place where applicable, and begin monitoring the trees and top soil. As trees and top soil take time for the environment to respond to managed care, we believe in creating long-term relationships with our clients to begin, monitor, adjust and succeed in creating healthy, thriving landscapes for them to enjoy for years to come,” says Matt.
What can you do that’s simple and easy? Adena says, “Here at PTC, we pride ourselves on working with our clients to make our part fun by focusing on what you can do. We hope this helps bring a larger issue that can be overwhelming back to basics on how each person and family can do their part. Build back the topsoil on your land and you are personally contributing to stopping climate change by sequestering CO2 and increasing the ground water by eliminating water run-off. When mowing your lawns, leave the bag off and mulch the leaves and grass allowing it to contribute to building the top soil. Inquire about our fertigation systems that are low-cost, and support in building top soil by giving the soil what it needs to develop.”
PTC recommends that you plant deciduous trees and shrubs on your property that support pollinators. Make sure your trees have the nutrition and water they need to keep pests and disease at bay. Visit Preservation Tree Care’s website to see the deciduous trees you can plant as well as plant health care they can support you in.
A healthier forest can withstand invasive pests and forest fires. In fact, it’s a part of creating resilience, top soil, and supporting trees to grow larger. It is the intensity of the fires now—due to large infestations of pests, without diversification and culling of trees—that’s the issue. Fires that once burned the undergrowth and diseased trees, now burn down the entire forest. This then changes the climate of the area and scars the soil. Trees that once were there, can no longer grow back.
How can you help bring down fire intensity? Mitigate your land, cull your land of invasive species, pests and disease, plant deciduous trees which support pollinators and maintain the health of your trees.
If you are looking to make an impact on our environment in a positive way, give them a call. The Preservation Tree Care Team is here, ready to help.
