Canopy Tree Experts

Canopy Tree Experts bills itself as Canberra's trusted arborists since 1986, and with more than 38 years caring for the capital's trees the claim stands up. The business was founded by Bruno Wright and Phil Griffiths, with Bruno still serving as Managing Director, and it grew through the acquisition of ACT Tree Felling and Skyline Tree Surgery on the South Coast. Bruno's own account captures how far the trade has come: "When I started in this industry, we had no education, no safety harnesses, no chippers, and no protective equipment." Today the team is fully Canberra based, EVO accredited, a member of the International Society of Arboriculture, fully insured for public liability and workers compensation, and includes four consultants holding a Diploma of Arboriculture.

The hands-on work covers the full range. Tree removals and tree pruning form the core, with stump grinding to finish a site off. Powerline clearing is a genuine specialty and not something most suburban outfits can touch, requiring specific accreditation and training to work near live conductors. At the other end of the scale, tree planting and large tree transplanting mean the business can establish and even relocate mature trees rather than only take them down, which is rare capability.

The consulting side is unusually deep. Tree risk assessment, tree health advice and root mapping give owners and developers hard information about what is happening above and below ground. Tree protection work produces tree management plans, and the business also handles tree removal permits, a real consideration in the ACT where the Tree Protection Act governs what can be touched. Having four diploma-qualified consultants in house is what makes that documentation credible to a regulator.

Plant health is treated as its own discipline. Sick trees get proper diagnosis, and elm leaf beetle treatment is offered as a dedicated service, which is a distinctly Canberra concern given the city's magnificent elm plantings and the damage that pest does to them. On the urgent side, storm damaged trees are covered by a 24/7 emergency response on a dedicated line, so a fallen tree after a Canberra storm does not have to wait for the office to open.

Both commercial tree services and residential services are offered across Canberra, the wider ACT and Queanbeyan, from the base at Unit 3, 9 Whyalla Street, Fyshwick. The office line is 02 6161 1800 and the 24/7 emergency number is 0478 485 305. For anyone in the capital needing accredited arborists, a defensible tree report or urgent storm work, Canopy Tree Experts is about as established as it gets.