Oliver Coleman (known as Ollie) joined Artemis Tree Services in 2019 bringing with him a wealth of experience in arboriculture.
Ollie’s arboricultural career began at university, where he studied for a FdSc in Arboriculture. Recognising the need to combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience, he started from the ground up chopping firewood, and then doing a range of jobs within the industry to broaden his experience, including climbing arborist, team leading and management.
Later he started his own surveying and consultancy business, working with some well-known companies around the country. While successful, he decided to apply for a position at Artemis, as he wanted a better work/life balance to spend quality time with his family.
He joined the company as an Estimator, before stepping into his current role as a Consultant.
As a Consultant, Ollie surveys and inspects trees. He creates detailed reports that outline reasonably foreseeable hazards, risks or nuisances and offers advice on how to remediate these issues. The reports are structured so they are easy to read and provide recommendations, along with a quote for any necessary work.
Clients for Ollie’s Consultancy Services include landowners, local councils, schools, landscapers, and construction companies.
The reports he generates are used for a variety of reasons. Landowners have a duty of care to those who might access their land or if the trees are near to publicly accessible spaces. If a council has trees in a public access area, they must be checked by a qualified arboriculturist on a regular basis to ensure they don’t pose an unreasonable or foreseeable risk.
For example, landowners may use them to show neighbours or insurance companies. Trees may overhang paths in a park, or playgrounds in a school. Construction companies may be applying for planning permission and need to detail the trees on the site and how the building work will affect them.
Ollie’s recommendation is for a tree survey to be carried out every two years, as trees are dynamic, living organisms and can never be entirely free of risk.
Working four days a week on site, meeting clients, inspecting trees, and recording data, Ollie meets a wide variety of clients. He plots the trees on a map, records details of each one and uses this information to write his reports. Once a week Ollie works at home compiling reports and catching up on other admin.
It’s not just the Surveys that Ollie is responsible for. He also gets involved with the Artemis Training Academy teaching Apprentices about Tree and Fungal Identification. More recently he carried out Resistograph Decay Detection Training, which focuses on assessing the structure of a tree. He is also happy to provide advice to clients on planting, woodland management, and tree stock management.
Ollie comments:
“No two days are the same and I get to meet a wide variety of different clients. I’m continually expanding my knowledge, while doing a job I enjoy. Joining Artemis was undoubtedly the right decision. There’s a great family atmosphere, we all support each other, making it a fantastic place to work.”
