ABOUT
Creating a Healthy Urban Forest
The Puget Sound is home to some of the most extraordinary forests in the world. Nestled between two mountain ranges, where countless rivers meet a sprawling inlet, the conditions for a forest to thrive are just about perfect. The urban sprawl continues its furious pace in no small part because of the natural beauty unique to the PNW. Yet when our culture talks about nature, it's often with the understanding that the forest is somewhere else: at a park, in the wilderness, on a government run preserve. I believe that people are a vital part of the forest. I believe we have the ability to create and sustain every aspect of a healthy forest everywhere we live. I believe that urban life and a healthy ecosystem are not only compatible, they are symbiotic and sustainable.
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According to the International Society of Arboriculture, between 70% and 90% of tree decline is caused by adverse cultural and environmental conditions, most of which are solvable problems. Proper mulching, watering and planting are often the best prescription to increase forest health and can have many benefits a traditional pruning-only approach lacks. By centering forest health, we can create an environment where your trees can thrive. This proactive approach is cheaper in the long run than traditional, reactive tree care; routine maintenance becomes less frequent; pest problems begin to regulate themselves; and your trees will thrive in the forest you've helped create.
Owner Matt Durland
Hello everyone, my name is Matt and I'm obsessed with the urban forest. I'm an ISA certified arborist and native Seattleite who grew up playing sports and climbing anything I could find. My parents helped instill a love for nature with our backyard orchard, hiking and skiing trips, and visits to our Wenatchee area family forest. I first got into tree work after college, when an arborist friend encouraged me to join him at a local tree care company. After learning the ropes working for different arborists, the approach that centers debris removal over a healthy ecosystem made me question their standard model and inspired me to start Twin Tree Urban Forestry.
I've taken lessons from each of the variety of endeavors I've had in life: mental and physical control from a lifetime of playing soccer and other sports; a focus on efficiency and value from an economics degree (University of Puget Sound '14); do's and don'ts of contract work from running a painting business; healthy forest management from years of working a family forest in the central cascades; and tree care knowledge and skills from years of working for various tree care companies. I'm excited to continue the journey of learning and growing with the urban forest and its inhabitants.
