Join the GAA for a FREE Networking and Social Event

Registration is required. 

July 31st from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.
Garden Hills Community Center
339 Pine Tree Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30305

1 CEU  applied for

Breakfast Will Be Provided

Sponsored by ArborKi

Agenda:

8:00 -8:30 -- Check In and Grab Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30 -- Educational Sessions (Broken into 3 twenty-minute speakers)
9:30 -10:30 -- Networking 

Topics: 

The Business of PHC: Navigating the Simple, Intermediate, and Difficult Aspects

Alex Ferguson, ArborKi

Understanding the challenges in plant health care (PHC) and their implications for business development.

Expanding the Role of Arborists to Enhance Client Experience

Eric Duncan, Ecosystem Services Solutions

Exploring ways to incorporate looking at individual woody plants and species of trees and shrubs with a focus on aesthetics, ecology and long-term management.

The Benefits of Young Tree Pruning & How to Incorporate it in Your Business

Andrew Blenk, Pruning Professors

Young tree pruning is an underrated aspect of arboriculture. Learn how a little effort upfront can help yield greater long-term tree success, cultivate customer relationships, and most importantly make a profit.

About the Speakers:

Alex Ferguson is a certified arborist, TRAQ qualified, and the owner of Arbor Kí Tree Solutions, which provides PHC support services to companies within the tree care industry. Alex began his career in his early teens, working for retirees and master gardeners, which developed his interest in the green industry. After completing his degree in Horticulture from the University of Georgia, he pursued further education in the industry, focusing on arboriculture. Since discovering PHC, he has been committed to fostering a positive public view and promoting the adoption of preventative tree care.

Eric Duncan is a conservation botanist and arborist focused on native plants, pollinators and the health of our urban ecosystems. His has spanned forestry, horticulture, education, land management and arboriculture. Through the past 30 years of his life the lines between these career fields have blurred and begun to fade away. He no longer sees a need to separate these specialties and is trying to show his fellow arborists that they have a unique opportunity to sync these disciplines for our clients and deliver a more comprehensive service to our communities and our shared ecosystem.

Andrew Blenk is the owner/operator of Pruning Professors, a business that focuses on the pruning aspects of healthcare. Andrew graduated from Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources in 2011 with a bachelors degree in forest science. Andrew has held a BCMA certification since 2019. He worked for 12 years for Caldwell Tree Care as the plant healthcare director where he gained the foundational skills and experience that he’s built upon with this new endeavor.