•Client communication •Safety culture •Respect for tree biology •Personal accountability
These lessons rarely appear on produc- tion reports. They are difficult to mea- sure and impossible to quantify on a spreadsheet. Yet they often determine whether an arborist becomes merely competent or truly exceptional. The part of tree work nobody writes about is not equipment, production rates, software platforms, or sales numbers. It is the responsibility expe- rienced professionals carry to develop the next generation. Like properly supported trees, young arborists grow strongest when given both guidance and enough freedom to stand on their own. And much like the trees they care for, the best arborists never stop growing. ABOUT W. JIM CORTESE: W. Jim Cortese is a longtime arborist, forestry expert, and natural history en- thusiast based in Knoxville, Tennessee. A graduate of the University of Tennes- see in Forest Resource Management, he spent more than four decades working in arboriculture, consulting on hundreds of tree appraisal, thousands of tree pres- ervation cases and lecturing extensively on plant health care and tree biology. Cortese is also a co-founder of the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arbo- retum and has helped identify and pre- serve historic trees throughout Tennes- see. His book John Muir Climbs a Tree and Other Tree Tales is believed to be the first anthology devoted entirely to stories about trees, bringing together historical narratives, legends, and re- flections inspired by trees.
The part of tree work nobody writes about is not equipment, production rates, software platforms, or sales numbers. It is the responsibility experienced professionals carry to develop the next generation.
and teamwork. The best companies recog- nize this and invest accordingly. Training should extend beyond chain- saws, rigging systems, and climbing techniques. Some of the most valuable employee education has little to do with cutting trees at all. Over the years, successful companies have brought in outside instructors to teach:
They become invested not only in their company, but also in their clients and in the profession itself. That investment matters because tree care is not easy work. Arborists operate around gravity, elec- tricity, traffic, weather, decay, machin- ery, and human error every day. The consequences of poor judgment can be immediate and severe.
•First aid •Defensive driving •Fruit-tree pruning •Financial responsibility •Equipment safety •Plant identification •Pest and disease diagnostics
Which brings us back to mentorship.
THE RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH The tree care industry will always need experienced professionals who are willing to teach younger arborists — not just how to work, but how to think.
That means teaching:
The result is usually the same: better employees, safer operations, and stron- ger retention. People who are educated and respected tend to take greater pride in their work.
•Restraint •Observation •Professionalism
46 | Summer 2026 ArborTIMES ™
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