Good Neighbor Podcast: Milton & More
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of Milton, Crabapple, and Hickory Flat
Good Neighbor Podcast: Milton & More
EP #153: SavATree Norcross with Anthony Ursache & Morgan Prince
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Ever wondered how your backyard trees are more than just a pretty sight but a vital part of our urban ecosystem? Morgan Prince and Anthony Ursache from SavATree Norcross unveil the secrets behind nurturing these green giants and debunk common myths that might stump even the most seasoned gardeners. They're not just here to chop and change; they're on a mission to preserve and protect, ensuring that every leafy corner of our metro areas remains robust and radiant.
With a combined arsenal of experience and a clear love for the great outdoors, Morgan and Anthony take us on their personal trails to becoming certified arborists. Their stories aren't just about climbing trees and driving trucks; they're about the ongoing education and dedication needed to keep our green spaces thriving against the odds. From the rigorous certification process to the intricacies of plant health care in the South, this episode is a treasure trove for anyone keen on keeping their canopies in peak condition. Join us and leaf no stone unturned in the quest to save our trees.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Poehler.
Speaker 2Hey everybody, I'm excited to be talking with Morgan Prince and Anthony Ursachi from Save-A-Tree. Welcome guys.
Speaker 3Well, thank you. Thanks for having us. Glad to be here.
Speaker 2Yeah. So why don't, yeah, guys start by telling us we are a nationally accre lawn care company.
Speaker 3Um we needs for outdoor green s and trim and remove anyth. You look at our name. Save best to save what can be saved. You know there are those unfortunate areas or items that cannot be saved, but we try to do our best to use some plant health care or lawn care to really treat what's needed and get your green space looking beautiful awesome, anthony.
Speaker 2Anything you want to add to that?
Speaker 4No, Morgan hit it on the head. We do our best serving all clients across the metro area and we're just an honest company that operates with integrity and takes care of all of our clients.
Speaker 2Good deal. Can you guys talk about your journey Like you know what got you into the field and why you wanted to be arborists?
Speaker 4Yeah, I've been in the area for 10 years. I started with a different operation about three years ago. I got to the point where I felt like I hit a plateau and I wanted to become a certified arborist to feel like I had that next level of education to be able to help clients with the most knowledge as possible, and absolutely I fell in love with it. And you know, they say, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. And since I've been in this industry with being able to help as many people as I have and do good, honest work, it's been, it's been incredible for me.
Speaker 2Awesome. And how about you, morgan?
Speaker 3That's probably a little bit longer story than his. I love being outside. I love helping people. You know, if I'm not outside for 24 hours I can have a grumpy attitude. It really feeds my soul and I want to share that with other people. And being able to acquire the knowledge that is needed to help someone with their green space nonetheless, help that person right it really puts a smile on my face being able to know that I was able to A meet someone new, b help what they need and then help what their green space needs. I've been doing this for quite some time. I started as a groundie. I've climbed trees, I've driven all the equipment. So now I'm here and it's kind of like anything said you do what you love and you don't work. I smile every day I wake up to come to work.
Speaker 2That's awesome. What is the process of becoming a certified arborist?
Speaker 3So there are multiple ways. You can actually go to school and do a forestry degree and do all that To become a certified arborist. There is schooling, there is continued education. You do have to have I believe it's six years in the industry before you can apply for your certification. Then you can either take a class for the certification which hands down is the hardest test I've ever taken.
Speaker 3But yeah, so then after six years you can become certified. You have to have so many CEUs over three years to keep the certification, so there's consistent education needed. Things do change in your green space, you know. A fungus or a bacteria might change a little bit, so we have to know how to treat it differently.
Speaker 2Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4Any myths or misconceptions that are out there about the tree service that you guys want to clear up. Yeah, so a lot of homeowners call their typical guy an arborist and, without actually taking that 150 question exam and passing that test through the International Society of Arboriculture, you're not actually considered an arborist. So you can actually be a certified arborist. You can be a tree cutter, sure, but if somebody comes out to your property to provide you an estimate and they don't have that certified arborist certification number, they have the same knowledge as you when it comes to health of trees and overall tree cutting.
Speaker 3I think to add to that is especially here in the South. It has been changing over the last few years. But really being able to use plant health care to treat your property. It's been tough because a lot of people are, oh, I'll remove that, all my shrubs and replant well, you're thousands and thousands of dollars to do that not realizing that that bacteria, that fungus can still be in the soil if you're not treating it you're going to have the same issue right. So you got to be preemptive about treatments, you got to be preemptive about storms, you got to be preemptive about your pruning, because all that people, a lot of times people call when it's like, oh, I ranch fell through my roof. Well, if we would have been out two months ago, you know, certified artists could have, could have ideally seen those problems and helped taking care of that, but before it became a catastrophe so the moral of that is that people need to call you guys early, right?
Speaker 3yeah, yes, the idea is, you want to be preemptive. Like you, you spend a lot of money on your house, in your yard. Why not take care of it? Right? And if you want to be mosquito free or, you know, fungus free on your disease, on your plant so it looks good, or even your trees, your trees can get all this as well.
Speaker 2So you know, say, you have a 70 year old poplar that's hanging over your house I don't want dead branches over my house, you know and sometimes they're not easily seen, or forcing of what's going to happen what would be some signs that people should look for, that they would know that a problem might be.
Speaker 3You know, a couple months out, um, well, I ideally look, just look up right and look for dead branches. Right now is a good time to be able to tell, because the leaves are out uh, you're looking for any defects on the trunks, any discoloration on your on your shrubs? Uh, any discoloration in your lawn. You know, something that looks abnormal to the normal homeowner is probably going to be abnormal, but trying to diagnose what that is, that's why you need a certified art for stuff.
Speaker 2Got it. That makes sense. What do you guys like to do for fun when you're not working?
Speaker 3I'm a big family guy. I've got two little kids and a wife, so all three of them are in sports, my wife included. So we spend quite a time on the soccer field and, you know, just trying to get out and ride bikes as much as we can and stuff like that.
Speaker 4Awesome a son who turns two in August. So our weekends are dedicated to 10 to 12 loads of laundry and taking them out to the bar and just really being there for them and helping raise them.
Speaker 2Guys are busy, huh? Can you talk about some of the obstacles and hardships that you've had to overcome in getting this business off the ground?
Speaker 4Sure, no, I'd say there's been plenty. You know, just starting from the beginning and understanding what it takes to complete a job, what it takes to properly diagnose something. You know falling on your face a couple of times before really really understanding the process and what's going to be wrong. That has been the hardest, I'd say.
Speaker 3Got it. You know, I think of when I wanted to talk to you about an obstacle in getting to what they are. I mean, I've been doing this If you want to consider landscaping when I was younger probably 20 something years. It was learning to open my ears and close my mouth Right. There's so much out here to learn. I learned something new every day and, like I said, I've been doing this a long time, learning from the ground up so that I could really get a hold on what goes on, and just trying to do better on myself for my clients, some people don't see it that way, so there's an obstacle.
Speaker 3They're like oh, they just want to go out and sell my job.
Speaker 1I don't?
Speaker 3I want to go out and make sure that you're happy and with that I try to tell my clients look, I'm here for you, but I'm here for your property. So you're going to tell me what you want, I'm going to tell you what your property can do, and then hopefully we can find a happy medium. And it usually works out that way.
Speaker 2Awesome. Anything else that you guys would like to share with our listeners that you haven't had a chance to say?
Speaker 4We just we love working with the community. You know the Roswell, middleton, alpharetta area. We do plenty of other events. Morgan himself goes out to the farmer's market and we're just really big on engaging with the community and being able to help out others for sure.
Speaker 3Yeah. I think you know, if you're listening to this and you're thinking, man, maybe I should call someone, call someone, you know. It's like I said earlier that if something looks unnormal to you it's better to have a professional look at it, just peace of mind, and call someone that's well-trained. Ideally, us would say the tree, but because we have, I think nationwide, over a couple hundred certified harvest on staff so we can handle anything that's out there.
Speaker 4but to get a better understanding of what's going on your property you need a professional, a certified artist out there to take over and savetry itself as a business, will only send out a certified arborist to your property to meet with you, which is which speaks volume.
Speaker 3All of our sales are certified.
Speaker 2That's awesome. How can folks find you Want to share phone numbers, contact info, all that good stuff?
Speaker 3Our office number is 404-288-8733. Our office is located in Norcross. If you wanted to Google us it would be Savitry in Norcross. You get two right to us Phone number obviously will be on there as well. Give us a call. Someone in the office will take all your information, schedule a visit to whoever's territory that is in, and we'll be out there as soon as we can.
Speaker 2Good deal, all right. Well, thank you so much for joining me today, morgan and Anthony.
Speaker 4Thank you. Thank you so much for having us Stacy. We really appreciate it. This is great.
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Milton and More. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpmiltoncom. That's gnpmiltoncom, or call 470-664-4930.