South West Tree Services

Fire break and fuel hazard reduction is a legal requirement inside the Shire of Augusta Margaret River, and clearing and pruning a block so it meets the shire's fuel and hazard reduction policy is the sort of job South West Tree Services is set up for. Glen Taylor runs the business with a Certificate III in Arboriculture and a Certificate IV in Horticulture behind him, and he leads a team of climbers and tree surgeons who hold horticulture and arboriculture qualifications of their own.

Confined space tree removal is our speciality in the Margaret River region. The crew is trained in advanced rigging, so a big tree in tight quarters comes down in controlled pieces rather than being felled into whatever space is left, and where a tree is structurally unsound we bring in a local cranage company so nothing ends up through your roof or your fence. Tree removal is usually about protecting assets and meeting bushfire compliance, and a sick tree can turn into a dangerous one, at which point taking it out is the only option left on the table.

Lopping is not really the right word for what a tree needs. Pruning is the technique that keeps growth healthy and the shape natural, and the same skills go into view enhancement, where a crown reduction or a skirt lift opens up a river, ocean or rural outlook. If you are paving or building over the spot a tree came out of, stump grinding is worth doing, because a stump left in the ground can regrow and cause you trouble years later. Our mulch delivery holds moisture in your soil, keeps the weeds down and feeds the ground as it breaks down. Vine and orchard removal is work we take on for the wineries around the region, whether the block is going back into vines or back to pasture, and land clearing is done selectively with BAL assessment compliance in mind, the trees you want kept left standing, and the waste mulched and recycled on site.

Glen is also a registered user of the Quantified Tree Risk Assessment method, the internationally recognised way of weighing how likely a tree is to fail and what it would hit if it did. Our QTRA risk assessments cover hazard identification, public liability risk, school, park and council tree programmes, powerline and roadside trees, storm damage evaluation and retention decisions. Environmental tree assessments take in pre development tree inventories, AS 4970 compliant protection plans, tree preservation zone calculations, construction impact assessments, vegetation condition reporting, significant tree documentation and observations of habitat value such as hollows, foraging and nesting. The reports are written for local government submissions, planning approvals, insurance requirements, and legal or dispute matters.

Our patch runs from Margaret River and Cowaramup down through Karridale to Augusta, across to Molloy Island, Nannup and Bridgetown, and north to Busselton, Dunsborough and Bunbury. Emergency storm damage removal is part of what we do, so if a tree has come down or is hanging up where nobody should be walking, that is a call worth making straight away. Ring 0484 617 341 and we will come and have a look at the tree.