Driftwood Arborist

Tight access is where most of the trouble starts. A tree standing over an asset, on a block with no gate wide enough for a machine, or in a spot where a mistake lands on someone's roof, is the job we are set up for at Driftwood Arborist. Matt leads the crew, and the whole business sits at the crossroad between an environmentalist and a tree service, which in practice means we look for the ethical answer to managing a tree in a populated place before we look for the quick one.

We work Phillip Island and the Bass Coast, which takes in Cowes, Ventnor, Silverleaves, Rhyll, Smiths Beach, Sunderland Bay, Surf Beach, Cape Woolamai, Newhaven, San Remo, Kilcunda, Dalyston, Wonthaggi, Inverloch, Coronet Bay, Corinella, Grantville, Koo Wee Rup and Lang Lang. Across the water we cover the Mornington Peninsula from Frankston South, Mount Eliza, Mornington and Mount Martha down through Dromana, Rosebud, Rye, Blairgowrie, Sorrento and Portsea, and around to Flinders, Red Hill, Balnarring, Somers, Hastings and Tyabb.

Matt's route into this was a long engagement with National Parks through rock climbing, back country skiing and bushwalking, which led to a degree in Outdoor and Environmental Education at LaTrobe University and arboricultural study straight after. The crew's qualifications come out of both TAFE and university, and we are fully insured. That grounding is why we will not lop a tree: the technique is outdated and it has been shown to create future hazards and long term deterioration. We take the time to assess a tree properly and prune it so it responds with vigour and longevity.

Not every removal should end up as firewood. Where a log is too good to burn we mill it, so the tree gets an upcycled future in something you keep rather than an afternoon in the fire box. Where the tree is better off standing, habitat creation through hollow carving is a specialised technique we offer in a lot of different settings, and it can transfer the environmental significance of a tree that would otherwise have come down. Where a mature tree has a structural flaw or an ornamental one is exposed to hard wind, we fit bracing and cabling tailored to that tree.

Alongside that there is tree pruning, tree removal where retention is not a solution, hedge trimming, stump removal and aerial tree inspections, which put a climber up into the canopy for a close look at a tree's health. Branches and debris go through the chipper and come back to you as mulch for the garden beds, and we supply firewood from recent jobs. When a storm puts a tree somewhere dangerous, our emergency tree service runs 24/7. We are on 7:30am to 5pm, Monday to Sunday. Ring 0447 725 885 and we will come and look at your trees and talk through the options that actually suit them.