TMK Tree and Hedge seeing change

CORKERY – TMK Tree and Hedge Inc.’s Tyler Kearney says changing weather patterns are changing the tree removal business and says clients should be proactive with trees before they come down on their own on something you value.

Kearney who lives in Corkery, got involved in the business young, and says he’s seen a lot of change in the industry in the roughly 20 years he has been an arborist.

“I started way back when I was 19 with Trillium Tree Experts,” Kearney told West Carleton Online from his Manion Heights home on Thursday, March 28. “Back then I was just the guy on the ground.”

Following that he went to Humber College to take urban arboriculture, a multi-faceted program teaching students basic climbing and rigging, biology and tree identification to name a few of the skills taught.

He says a client in need needs to be aware when searching for an arborist.

“It’s not really governed that well,” Kearney said of the industry. “It’s not a Red Seal (interprovincial standards Red Seal program) skill.”

Following college, Kearney worked a few different jobs in the industry before opening his first business Kearney’s Tree Service in 2014. When his family started growing, he stepped back and worked for the city as an arborist.

Last year, with his children a little older, he started his second business TMK Tree and Hedge Inc. which is getting ready for its second season, basically starting now. He says climate change is changing the business.

“There’s a lot more hydraulics involved now,” Kearney said. “We respond to a lot more trees already down. Trees on lines. It comes down to the weather we’ve been having for the last few years. Trees are already down now.”

Kearney says homeowners are learning to be proactive during these windy times.

“People are now opting to remove their trees,” he said. “They tell me, ‘the tree is too close to my house, I want it gone.’”

But TMK Tree and Hedge, as the name suggest, is a lot more than just tree removals.

“Anything to do with trees and hedges,” Kearney said. “The full range from planting to removal and all the maintenance in between.”

That includes tree pruning, stump grinding, hedge trimming, tree removal and 24-hour a day emergency tree service.

“Safety is a huge thing for us,” Kearney said. “Working at heights, you’re on an anchored spot when we’re climbing trees.”

Following an unseasonably mild winter with the season’s snowfall gone by mid-March, (and that back for a day or two early in April) area residents are already outside and planning that outside work.

“It’s an early year,” Kearney said. “March has been busy. The buds are ready to pop on the red maples. But there is still room for new clients.”

For more information on TMK Tree and Hedge or to get a free quote, visit their website here or call 613-229-4024.