Under Cover
keeping a canopy of trees happy, healthy and hardy
Text by Nancy S. Moseley Photos courtesy of Extreme Tree Company Some trees are famous enough to be named. There's the "Keffer Oak," commanding a section of the Appalachian Trail just east of Route 42 in Newport. Virginia Tech maintains a Big Tree Registry, documenting the largest trees of each species in the Commonwealth. For Josh Swift, certified arborist and owner of Extreme Tree Company, they may not all have names, but they all have stories. There's the giant tree he saved on Airport Road, the one his son first independently ascended off Tall Oaks Drive; there's the 8-foot-diameter tree with sentimental value in Radford, and the 110-foot hickory tree nicknamed "Frankenhickory." After 15 years in business, 24
NRV MAGAZINE
Swift's own personal registry is impressive. He drives by his favorites at least once year to visit. "I knew I wanted to do work up high. I love rope work and searched for what to get into that would let me do that. Being involved in Vertical Rescue Training gave me a great foundation for using ropes at height." Swift grew up reading his grandfather's engineering books and tinkering with ropes and pullies. Still today, his favorite part of tree work is the problem solving, the required focus and the ever-changing challenges. And, of course, "the element of danger, of cutting apart something you're attached to. It's just you and the tree and a chainsaw, March/Apri l
2022
