Tag Archive for: Tree

Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21

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Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21: When Joe Hewitt launched Hewitt Tree Surgery in Cornwall in June 2024, he knew exactly what equipment he needed to compete in the domestic market.

After nearly five years working his way from apprentice to fully qualified climber, including stints in Australia and New Zealand, he’d learned that reliable equipment makes all the difference. The FSI B21 stump grinder was the natural choice to complete his fleet, expanding the range of services he can offer to domestic customers across the county.

Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21

Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21

Growing from the Ground Up

“After I completed my apprenticeship, I started subcontracting, climbing for a lot of other tree surgeons throughout Cornwall” Joe explains. “I then spent some time working in Australia and New Zealand before coming back and setting up on my own.” Since launching, Joe has welcomed a new team member and a growing customer base to his books.

“We’ve invested in everything we need to service the domestic market – van, hand tools and woodchipper – and this year decided to get our own stump grinder. We found we were hiring one fairly frequently, but this was reliant on availability and sometimes involved a lot of running around to collect a machine, only to find it wasn’t in the best of working condition.”

The Right Fit for the Job

Cornwall’s coastal landscape brings plenty of challenges, from narrow gardens to steep steps, which made the lightweight FSI B21 the perfect choice.

“It’s light and compact enough to lift and manoeuvre around properties and steps, but powerful enough to handle most of the stumps we see in a residential garden. We’d previously hired the slightly larger FSI B22 so I knew first off to expect fantastic build quality and reliability. In addition, the FSI B21 is equipped with some useful features such as the hill-hold brake assist which is great for loading on trucks and working on slopes. It’s fitted right in with how and where we work” comments Joe.

FSI: Backed with Confidence

Joe’s decision to buy FSI was also backed by reputation and experience. He adds, “A lot of arb community groups praise FSI and from my own experience I’ve got only positive things to say.” This positivity extends too, to the relationship he’s established with FSI and his local dealer partner, Elmstar Machinery. “Jason at Elmstar has been brilliant. He was joined by FSI’s Lee Hatton on the install in September 2025 who, together, gave me all the information and tips I needed to get the very best out of my machine.”

He concludes, “The FSI B21 has been an affordable, versatile addition to the fleet, helping us expand our services as we continue to grow the business in new ways.”

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New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice

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New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice: The Greenfingers Charity is delighted to announce the official opening of its latest magical garden, this time at Chestnut Tree House Hospice in Arundel, with the new Kitchen Garden which was unveiled on Wednesday 24th September 2025.

Designed by award-winning garden designers Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer and built by Baylis Landscapes, the new space brings together ornamental planting, growing beds, and pollinator-friendly features to create a haven for children, families, and staff.

New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice

New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice

The Kitchen Garden has been designed to encourage hands-on engagement with nature, supporting sustainability, exploration, education and wellbeing. Children will have the opportunity to learn more about the journey from ‘Garden to Plate’, while produce grown will also be used in the hospice kitchen while the ‘Dads Club’ will be encouraged to get actively involved in tending the garden.

Boyd Douglas-Davies, Chairman of the Greenfingers Charity, reflected on the milestone: “Reaching our 70th garden is a moment of immense pride. Hospices are under enormous pressure to fund the essential care provided within their walls and that’s where Greenfingers steps in. We’re the only charity dedicated to creating therapeutic outdoor spaces for children’s hospices and with the support of our partners and the public, we can continue to make a difference. This Kitchen Garden is a shining example of what can be achieved when compassion and creativity come together.”

Stuart Palma, CEO of Southern Hospice Group, which includes Chestnut Tree House Hospice, added: “It’s a very exciting time for our hospice, and this beautiful new garden is a testament to the power of partnership. Having seen first-hand the essential work hospices do for children and families, I’m thrilled to be part of a community that shares a passion for exceptional care. This garden will offer a peaceful, engaging space for connection, healing, and learning, whilst also providing produce we can use in our kitchens and improve our sustainability. But it’s important to remember that Chestnut Tree House receives only around 7% of its income from central government and with running costs of £6 million a year, we must raise £5 million annually through fundraising and partnerships to keep providing our vital services. That’s why projects like this mean so much and we’re incredibly grateful to Greenfingers and all those who made it possible.”

Greenfingers Charity is hugely grateful to Honorary Member, Roger Head, whose incredible generosity made the garden possible, and to all those who kindly gave funds or gifts in kind to help create The Kitchen Garden at Chestnut Tree House.  Special thanks go to the Chapman Trust, The Hedley Foundation, Alexander Rose Ltd, Arbour Landscapes, Greenwood Plants, Rolawn,Veg Trug and others whose support has helped to bring this very special space to life.

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Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content

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Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content: Tubex, A Magnera Brand, has announced that all its market-leading recyclable tree shelters are now being produced using a minimum of 50% recycled content, a significant milestone in the company’s ongoing drive to improve sustainability in tree protection.

Available for the 2025/26 planting season, Tubex’s standard shelters of all heights, including its Shrubshelter and Easywrap range, will all contain a minimum of 50% recycled material, with an increasing proportion of that recycled content coming directly from used shelters recycled through Tubex’s Collection & Recycling Programme.

Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content

Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content

This latest improvement forms part of the manufacturer’s wider goal of improving the sustainability proposition for tree shelters as Dean Latten, Tubex’s Plant Director, explains:
“It was always our goal to maximise the amount of recycled content in our shelters, but we needed to ensure that we could manufacture consistently at that increased level. Thanks to a brilliant effort from our team in Aberdare, we are now able to do this.

“This is the same leading recyclable shelter range that thousands of landowners and foresters trust, just made with more recycled material. We’re always looking for ways to improve what we offer, and this is another step in the right direction for us.”

Tubex recycled shelters have the lowest carbon footprint in our range and are 100% recyclable at end of life. This closed-loop system enables contractors and landowners to minimise waste, meet regulatory requirements and reduce the long-term impact of their planting projects.

For more information on the updated Tubex shelters and the full range of sustainable tree protection options, visit: https://tubex.com/products/tubex-standard-recyclable-tree-shelters/

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Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

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Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights: When Adrian Strudwick, owner of Brentwood Tree Surgery, was weighing up whether to hire another employee or invest in a new machine, he made a game-changing decision — and hasn’t looked back since.

The purchase of an Avant 630 compact loader has not only accelerated operations across his tree surgery and firewood businesses, but it’s also unlocked new opportunities, turning the machine into what Adrian now calls “the centre of the firm.”

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

Adrian’s background is in engineering — he began in aircraft engineering before joining the forces in 1982. After leaving the military, he retrained in arboriculture, eventually gaining a degree in the subject and setting up Brentwood Tree Surgery. Over the years, his business has expanded to include firewood processing, site / estate management, and driveway installation — and the Avant 630 has been instrumental in driving that growth.

The Avant 630 isn’t just a forestry machine for Adrian — it’s a versatile workhorse. Used both on-site and at the yard, the compact loader handles everything from loading trucks and towing trailers to moving hay bales for horses and feeding timber into kilns.

“We use it for shifting machinery, unloading our Unimog, clearing the yard, moving crates of firewood — you name it,” says Adrian. “It’s sped up production so much. What used to take multiple people and hours of manual labour, we can now do faster, more efficiently, and with less fatigue.”

Its versatility comes from its size, agility, and the vast range of attachments available — Adrian currently uses forks, a loading bucket, a power rake, and a stone burier, with plans to add a stump grinder and flail mower to his kit.

On-site at Barrack Wood, a historic woodland near Warley and Thorndon Country Park, Adrian uses the Avant 630 to manage timber extraction with minimal impact on the environment.

“It’s relatively light on the ground, so you don’t get the damage you would with a 10-tonne forestry vehicle,” he explains. “You can trailer it in and out easily, and you don’t need to leave it on site overnight. It’s so versatile.”

Barrack Wood, steeped in history from the Napoleonic era, is a delicate environment. Adrian’s careful management and the Avant’s low ground pressure make it an ideal combination for sustainable woodland work.

Brentwood Tree Surgery also runs a kiln-dried firewood company — the only one in the area with a wood kiln capable of drying 15 tonnes of timber in just five days.

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

“All the waste wood is burnt in biomass boilers to fuel the kiln,” says Adrian. “The Avant loads the firewood processor, moves the crates into the kiln, and unloads them when they’re ready. It’s essential to how we work now.”

The high-quality firewood meets DEFRA and Woodsure standards — a key requirement in today’s market — and Adrian credits the Avant 630 for helping maintain this efficiency and quality.

“It ticks so many boxes for a machine of its size. You can do so many different types of work with it – it really is a super tool,” he says. “And the quick-release hydraulics make switching attachments a matter of seconds. No downtime.”

He’s been so impressed with the performance that after three years of ownership, he’s looking to add a second unit — or possibly upgrade and keep the original.

Adrian also praises the support he’s received from Avant’s dealer, Avant South East. “Chris and the team have been fantastic. They’re a family-run firm and really good to work with.”

For Brentwood Tree Surgery, the Avant 630 has become far more than a machine — it’s a business enabler.

“It really is the centre of the firm now,” says Adrian. “The amount of jobs it can do is endless.”

For more information, please visit www.avanttecno.com/uk

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It’s GreenMech for 5 Shires Tree Surgery

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It’s GreenMech for 5 Shires Tree Surgery: Much has changed since Wayne Pugsley of 5 Shires Tree Surgery ventured into offering arb, woodland and forestry services over 30 years ago, but the one constant has been his choice of woodchipper – and for that, it’s always been GreenMech!

More than three decades on, and now onto his seventh machine, the Droitwich-based arborist explains why reliability, familiarity and outstanding service has kept him loyal to the brand.

It’s GreenMech for 5 Shires Tree Surgery

It’s GreenMech for 5 Shires Tree Surgery

Wayne has been working in green services since the age of 19. Frustrated with handing over the arb enquiries received from his domestic customer base in and around the West Midlands, he undertook the relevant courses and qualifications, purchased his first GreenMech machine, and the rest was history! “I spent £800 and got a second-hand unit which truthfully did cause me a bit of grief, but didn’t distract from the fact I actually really liked the machine. I liked that it was manufactured local to me, I appreciated the build quality, user-friendly operation and I quite quickly built a good relationship with a number of people at the factory. And that remains true to this day. It’s refreshing to find a company who prioritise quality and hold true to family values, which transmits in how they cooperate with their customers.”

“My workload has always determined which model is right at the time of upgrade and, while I’m not GreenMech’s biggest customer, the service I receive time after time makes me feel like I am.” Wayne emphasises the point with an example of GreenMech’s willingness to find a solution to an ongoing storage issue. “I needed a folding chute to enable me to store the chipper in a container, but the standard folding chute was still too tall. I explained the issue and GreenMech engineered something to suit my requirements and, every time I change my machine, they fit the bespoke chute to my new model.”

The chute is now equipped on Wayne’s most recent purchase – a 40hp EVO 165P complete with new SMART FEED remote system – which was delivered by GreenMech’s Neal Hussey in March 2025. “The EVO is by some distance the best machine they’ve produced. The power, performance and value for money you get is outstanding.” He continues, “I work with a number of sub-contractors who enjoy using the EVO 165P. Meanwhile, I enjoy the peace of mind that the machine is bulletproof and isn’t going to let them down on a job!”

“I also have my chippers painted in an all-green livery which GreenMech sort for me without issue.” But, for Wayne, it doesn’t stop there… “I also have green on my trailer and a lot of my safety gear is green – I will never use another brand so why not go all in and have everything in keeping?!”

For more information on the new, higher horsepower petrol-powered EVO 165P, visit www.greenmech.co.uk

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