Tree Department - Canberra

You've been told the tree has to go. Or a builder wants to dig inside its root zone, or the block you're about to buy has a big old gum on it and nobody can tell you whether that's an asset or a liability. That's the point at which you want an opinion from someone with no cutting work to win from the answer. Tree Department is a consultant arborist practice, founded by Simon Howe in 2019, with the Canberra office at Lyneham covering the ACT and southern New South Wales. We don't carry out pruning or removal work, so our opinions are unbiased and we have no conflict of interest when we make a recommendation.

Sean Gentry leads the Canberra work, with 25 years in the arboriculture industry across the private and public sector in Canberra, London and Melbourne, 15 of them spent as a climbing arborist before he moved into consultancy in 2009. A tree risk assessment from us is done under one of two recognised methods: Sean is a Registered User of Quantified Tree Risk Assessment and holds the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification from the International Society of Arboriculture. That matters because the report has to stand up to whoever reads it next, whether that's an electricity provider deciding what to clear, a school council deciding what to do about the tree over the playground, or a landowner who needs a defensible position on a tree that worries the neighbours.

The second strand is development and planning. We prepare arboricultural impact assessments and tree management plans in accordance with AS4970-2009, handle planning reports and planning referrals, and lodge tree removal applications under the Tree Protection Act 2005 (ACT). Where construction is happening close to trees that are staying, we provide supervision and certification of construction works so the protection measures are more than a line on a drawing. Larger sites get tree audits, data collection and GIS mapping, and infrastructure impact assessments including environmental effects statements. We also write landscape heritage and significant tree assessments, heritage impact statements, pre-purchase due diligence reports, health and condition reports and expert witness statements.

What you get from us is a document you can hand to a council, an insurer, a court or a buyer. Our consultants are fully insured, hold construction industry induction credentials and are rail industry worker certified for the Melbourne Metro, V/Line and ARTC networks. Tell us what the question is and what it has to satisfy, and we'll tell you which assessment answers it and what the report will contain before you commit to anything. Ring Sean on 0405 333 262 or email [email protected] to get an assessment underway.