We are always impressed by the access to nature here in Seattle. Our CEO, Brian Holers, was on a project on Mercer Island and he realized how different life can be just 50-100 yards from the busy highway. It’s quiet, peaceful, calm, and beautiful. We maintain an urban forest for this exact reason. It creates an opportunity for all of us to stay connected with Mother Nature and the natural wonder of plants and trees.
City trees need a sufficient soil volume in order to grow to a certain size. A tree never stops growing, but if it does, it will die. The process of growing, even a tiny bit, is a stressful process and the amount of soil the tree is planted in makes a huge difference. This week Brian was out on Mercer Island evaluating the health of multiple trees that line a major street.
“It’s not easy being green.” These words were made famous by Jim Henson’s iconic frog, but also ring true for our city trees. The stoic sentinels that line our streets and dot our parks are in danger, and tree advocate and arborist Brian Holers is trying to make it a little easier to be green. Holers started the company Root Cause to promote the survival and wellbeing of city trees through arboriculture. This task is
Geek of the Week profiles the characters of Pacific Northwest tech, science, games, innovation, and more. “When he was growing up, Brian Holers had a love for the outdoors — fishing, playing baseball, running through cornfields and climbing trees. That last passion eventually led him to where he is today… As an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture, Holers now runs Root Cause from his home base in Mercer Island, Wash. He provides services using modern
Alison Morrow of King5-TV met up with Brian in Belltown while installing new Porous Pavement around trees on 2nd Ave. Check out their video below or visit their website here: https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/porous-pavement-saves-seattles-trees/281-8129551 SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.KING5.COM/ARTICLE/TECH/SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT/PO
The Root of the Problem In September 2016, the general contractor responsible for redeveloping Bellevue Downtown Park in Bellevue, Washington, contacted Root Cause LLC to help protect its trees. The project involved overhauling the park’s land, completing a half-mile long circular walkway around the park and building several children’s playground structures. Lying at the edge of downtown Bellevue, Bellevue Downtown Park is an approximately 20-acre park that welcomes hundreds—and at times, thousands—of people per day
Back in January, we were tasked of installing new porous pavement around a pair of trees just two blocks away from Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle. The struggles with working downtown include narrow sidewalks, a busy lunch rush and of course, dealing with the cold, rainy weather. This pavement installation spanned the course of a few days from when we first removed the top soil from the original tree pit. After removing a few