Tim Kastning: It's tree time

You've heard of a room with a view.

You know about offices that offers sweeping scenes.

Tim Kastning gets that every day he goes to work.

"I have a new office every day, and sometimes the views are great as I'm looking out over Lake Coeur d'Alene working in trees," he said.

Kastning is the owner of Grace Tree Service, a company he started 14 years ago. Since then his career has continued to grow.

"I would have to say the best part of being an arborist is working in the outdoors with nature, and meeting the needs of people through caring for their trees and landscapes," he said.

Let's start with your arborist career. How did you get into this field?

I first started performing arboricultural work while I was in college. I had started a lawn care company and that led into working with trees and shrubs. After graduating from college my wife, Karen and I moved to Boise where we started our first full-time tree care company. In 1990 we moved to Coeur d'Alene and began another tree care company. We started Grace Tree Service, Inc. in 1998.

What keeps you going today? What's the best part of this work?

I really enjoy every aspect of tree care. I like things that give me a challenge. Technical removals, rigging, and precision timber felling is always a challenge. I've been spending a lot of time consulting lately. The consulting primarily consists of tree appraisals, diagnosing tree problems, litigation and expert witness. I generally have four or five litigation cases going at any one time where I'm working as an expert witness.

Challenges out there today you face in your profession?

My biggest challenge is finding qualified employees. It takes about five years of training and experience for someone to become a good well-rounded arborist. Another challenge is meeting all the regulations placed on small business. It takes a tremendous amount of time to keep the company in compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations. This includes complying with OSHA, DOT, industry standards, safety, training, and all the record keeping that goes with keeping in compliance.

You have a long list of community involvement. Why is this important to you?

Several years ago I went through the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class and came to realize how great of a community we live in, and how important it was to give back to our community. I've also been inspired to get involved from the actions and charity of many others going before me who have given to this community. I think we live in one of the greatest communities one could live it. I sometimes can't believe what we have been able to accomplish in a relatively small community.

You are also continuing earning certificates, continuing education. What are the new advances in your field?

Education has been very important to me. I have always felt it is critical to understand 'why' we do what we do. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge required in the various environmental sciences to be a good arborist. It has been a lot of work and study to acquire the highest credentials offered in our industry. The last credential I'm now working of is becoming a registered consulting arborist with the American Society of Consulting Arborists. I have completed all the requirements except for one, and I hope to complete it this winter.

You have also been honored with some awards lately. Can you share those with us?

In 2010 I was awarded the Commercial Arborist of the Year from the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. This year I received the True Professional of Arboriculture Award from the International Society of Arboriculture. Five Arborists world-wide are selected to receive this award each year. This award recognizes professional arborists that have excelled in their profession in areas of personal accomplishments, education, community and industry involvement, innovation, and leadership. I'm very proud to have been selected as a 2012 ISA-True Professional of Arboriculture.

What are the basics of your business? What do most folks call you for?

The primary services Grace Tree Service provides are tree removal, expert pruning of all trees and shrubs, tree planting and transplanting, pest management, and stump grinding. Our major equipment consists of a new bucket truck we bought last year, chippers and chip trucks, skid-steer loaders, and stump grinders.

How many do you employ? Give us an idea of the scope of your business.

We have about a dozen on payroll. This includes one full-time and one part-time secretary, a fleet mechanic, a chain saw mechanic, two salesmen, and six to eight of us working in the field. Three of us are ISA certified; I am a Board Certified Master Arborist and two others are certified arborists.

What's a routine day for you?

I get to the office around 6:30 in the morning and help get the crews lined out for the day. After loading tools and hooking the equipment up to the truck, I show the jobs to the crews or sometimes work with the crews in production. Some of my time working with the crews is spent in training, supervision, and quality control. I also spend a portion of my days giving estimates or working on consulting projects. If everything is running smoothly and I've been able to get on top of my work, I like to get in a round of golf every once in a while.

Let's talk trees. In North Idaho, what are the most dominant trees, which does best and which ones are best for our yards and our parks?

Our most prominent native trees are ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. Both trees do well, but Douglas fir trees are prone to root disease whereas ponderosa pine are more root disease resistant. As far as to which trees are best for our yards and parks - that all depends. A good tree is one that is vigorous and is functioning well in its environment. Not all trees do well planted in the urban environment, especially when large growing trees are planted under power lines or too close to houses or sidewalks. It all comes back to correctly planting the right tree in the right place.