The ISA Canopy Partners program is a collaborative initiative that brings together industry leaders to support ISA's mission to promote the professional practice of arboriculture, inform the public about tree benefits, and provide a global network of arborists, urban foresters, and people who care for trees.
We met with Jim Ingram, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Bartlett Tree Experts, an ISA Gold Canopy Partner, to discuss their views on the industry and how they see it changing in the coming years.
What industry trends has Bartlett noticed and is actively working towards?
Science, technology, safety, and business are the four legs of the chair that we sit on to stay stable, and there is an equal balance among them. Regarding science, and you are asking about industry trends, we are constantly being bombarded by a new insect or disease that affects entire tree cultures. For example, we had significant problems with Elm trees years ago; there was an invasive insect that decimated the hemlock population, we are still dealing with the emerald ash borer and how it decimated ash culture throughout North America, and now we are dealing with Beech leaf disease which is caused by a foliar-feeding nematode. The trends for our industry are really influenced by what is happening with tree culture, the science, and having to help sustain these beautiful trees that are being affected one species at a time. Then, you have the technology that is being used to help support the science with new tools and equipment.
How does Bartlett see the industry growing in the next few years?
The industry should grow exponentially because information technology for the layperson, the homeowner, has grown exponentially. Homeowners can go on the Internet and read about their favorite tree in their yard or their respective community. With more access to information comes questions and with that comes the opportunity for professional arborists to step up and help at that higher level. It is excellent for homeowners to have a general understanding of the trees in their yard, and when we show up to interact with them, we are giving them more definitive information. What we are doing is writing prescriptions for them to help care for their trees.
What does Bartlett want ISA’s members and credential holders to know about their organization?
We stand for the science, and we develop technologies to support the science; safety is embedded in everything we do, and we really know how to run a good business to help homeowners and the full spectrum of commercial businesses, from golf courses and cemeteries to hospitals and entire cities. We must all be on the same page regarding environmental concerns and have a consolidated front for approaching these species-specific concerns.
We have wonderful relationships with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the forestry service, hundreds of communities, and hundreds of thousands of clients that all share the common goal of helping care for our trees.
What is Bartlett planning to focus on or to promote in the coming years?
Our basic tenants — the science, the technology, the safety, and the business — serve as umbrellas. Under those umbrellas, we will continue to create quite a sophisticated process of, and in tandem with, a greater understanding of what is happening to our species out there of woody plants at large, and that includes both trees and shrubs. I also think that from a business standpoint, we must be sensitive to our teammates’ needs. So, it is one tree and one teammate at a time. We also have a mantra that the last person hired is the most important. If we do not take care of newly hired people or listen to them and take care of their needs, then we will no longer grow. We continue to grow because we listen to and address people's needs, whether they are fellow teammates or clients.
In the future, I am hoping that ISA will become more species-specific. For example, if you look at pruning standards as a general topic, we know how a “tree” responds to pruning from a biological standpoint, but how does a beech tree respond to pruning? How does a holly respond, or a lilac? Every tree species responds to pruning a little bit differently than the others. I see where ISA will champion the cause of understanding the culture of one species at a time; how the history is significant, the concerns, and how you manage that species.
What are some of the ways Bartlett is investing in the industry?
Well, for every major industry or organization where we are helping them financially at a very high level, we also go beyond that scope. Whether it is ISA, the Tree Care Industry Association, the American Society of Consulting Arborists, or many other green industry organizations that we sponsor. We help them out for a reason; to bring the industry along, to see the profession grow even more and to help the communities that we serve. We are passionate about that, and one additional thing I can say, during the pandemic when others were retracting from giving, we gave just as much, and in some cases more, to those organizations because we realized they needed more help than ever to sustain themselves. We are very passionate about helping and going beyond the scope of monetary assistance to help organizations like ISA at a very high level. We also give of ourselves. Most of the leadership at Bartlett are either currently serving on boards of directors or serving in some capacity to help enrich the process and enrich the knowledge.
It is really important that we give in all ways. That has been a hallmark of Bartlett Tree Experts since Dr. Bartlett started the company back in 1907, and we have not lost our focus on those principles. We are still doing everything we used to, but at an even higher level because there are more green industry groups than ever. We are vigilant and passionate about helping the arboriculture industry.