It’s all about “green tree thinking”
Andy Nicol, MD of Nicol: The Tree Specialist, has over 25 years of experience working with trees. Drawing from his wide experience, Andy combines two key roles, as consultant (or consulting arborist) and as tree care contractor, planner and doer. Here he explains the benefits of his approach.
“I sometimes struggle to explain exactly what the company does,” says Andy, “but I really can offer the complete job to clients, managing their tree risk responsibilities from start to finish. We can follow through from an initial brief, offering planning advice and a tree safety survey to delivering the required programme of remedial works. That’s unusual in this business but my clients in Cumbria seem to appreciate it – I’ve been working with some of them since I set up the business in 2010.”
Andy works with big estates across the UK but he’s based at Greystoke and enjoys working with local clients too. Cumbrian clients include several town councils, Tullie House in Carlisle and various Lake District tourism business.
Three recent projects show the breadth of Nicol services and the “green tree thinking” that goes into Andy’s approach.
Arboricultural Consultancy
At the consultancy end of the spectrum, Andy’s most recent project has been working with the team at Wilderness Way assessing over 30 sites across Cumbria, Northumberland and Scotland. These locations range from the organisation’s residential care homes to wild places for adventure activities. This consultancy work has involved Andy in creating a management plan to cover 1000s of different tree assets.
“My prime role was the assessment and surveying,” explains Andy. “The resulting tree management strategy includes a tree safety report for each property. We also made recommendations on the priorities for safety-critical works so that the business can plan its tree management budget accurately.”
Tree Planting
At the other end of the spectrum is a tree planting project for a private landowner at Caldbeck. This involved Andy bringing in and managing contractors to plant 22,000 trees, working within the restrictions of limited funding, difficult terrain and local agreements with Cumbria Woodlands.
“It was very satisfying to get so many young trees into the ground and, since completion, to see them thriving in their new environment too,” says Andy.
A Planning, Safety and Logistics Challenge
Finally, a major challenge of planning, safety, logistics and tree felling on the bank of Ullswater: in Spring 2022, Nicol managed the felling of a large conifer and its removal from the shores of Ullswater.
“This was a huge tree,” Andy explains, “and the initial request was for me to survey and advise. As it turned out, I then dealt with it too. We needed planning approval to remove the tree and I also had to organise safe access and road space on a winding section of the lake road near Glenridding. I brought in specialist contractors – including a high access climber and ground staff – and we needed a crane and hefty timber trailer.”
“It’s probably one of the most complicated fellings I’ve been involved in during my entire career. It definitely proved to the client the value of my seeing a project through from start to finish.”
If you need green tree thinking to resolve a challenge, give us a call to discuss the solutions to your tree problems.
