This article is a summary of the podcast conversation 36 “Is there Such a Thing as an Ethical Arborist?”with Sam Hardingham from Everyday Arbor”. Listen to the full episode on Spotify podcasts or Apple podcasts, and go here for the relevant links mentioned in the podcast. Read on for the summarised topics from the episode.

Is There Such a Thing as an Ethical Tree Arborist?

When most people think of arborists, they think of chainsaws, wood chippers, and tree removals for “safety reasons” or “potential fire hazard.”

In this episode, I’d love you to meet Sam Hardingham, founder of Newcastle-based business Everyday Arbor. An experienced arborist, Sam is challenging that narrow view of what it means to be an arborist. His goal is to keep as many trees standing in our local environment as possible.

Rather than chasing profit by saying yes to every tree removal request, Sam is putting trees first. We talk about the role trees play in our neighbourhoods, the risks versus the benefits they bring, and how their presence connects us to the bigger picture of balancing urbanisation with environmental sustainability.

This episode is a reminder that trees come with issues and risks in suburbia, but should these risks outweigh the benefits of trees?

Overview of the Conversation

Photo Credit: Everyday Arbor Instagram

Sam’s journey to becoming an arborist
Adapting work practices from the English climate to the Australian landscape
Shifting thinking from doing the prescribed work to best tree practice and how that influences his practice
Benefits of trees within the urban environment
Alternative options when trees shade the potential for solar panels – what’s the amenity and ecological trade off?
Avoiding “death by a thousand cuts” in a neighbourhood: “we all have a responsibility here to help foster more liveable cities”

the thing to keep in mind is that the risk of being struck by a tree is so low compared to any other risk we usually face in our day-to-day lives. It needs to be taken seriously but it also needs to be put into context.

Photo: Before & After of a maintained tree by Everyday Arbor. Photo credit: Everyday Arbor

Working with trees can also be about tree maintenance rather than tree removal
Why hard surfaces like footpaths and roads create challenging growing environments for trees
What a habitat stag is and how it’s important to biodiversity and good for urban areas
Example process of tree removal: “There’s a double benefit of keeping as much [tree waste] on site as possible”

Sam shares one simple tip with a snippet of his conversation…

✓ we should invest just a little bit of our time into something that is providing direct benefit to us as humans but also the planet and the ecosystem that we live in.

“Trees clean up after us so it’s only fair that sometimes we have to clean up after them. They are filtering the air that we’re breathing. They’re slowing down the stormwater runoff as well when we have a downpour. Trees hold so much water and that water does eventually make it to our waterways, and flooding events are going to occur. But with more trees around, we’re slowing down that cycle. We’ve also got the carbon capture and storage of trees. So that’s how trees are cleaning up after us a bit as well.”

This episode of The ReNewy Living Podcast was recorded on Awabakal country. I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and waters in the Central Coast NSW region of New South Wales.

I hope you’re feeling more confident about doing better for our people and planet by taking a start where you live approach to living sustainably. If this episode has spurred you into action, please feel free to share the episode with your friends. It would mean the world to me!

Listen into the stories and voices of this story on Spotify podcasts and here on Apple Podcasts… And you can also sign up to my regular emails here… I look forward to sharing more stories with you next time.

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