Meet the young, dynamic + super experienced duo behind this local biz
We’re always up to chat with the people behind a new business, so when Alex and Zak from Pristine Tree People invited us out to watch them at work at a job in Burradoo, we were keen.
After watching them work together and once Alex climbed down from the 40 foot gum tree he was halfway up, we chatted about their new business, their vast experience in the tree industry [including being involved in bushfire operations back in the 2019 / 2020 fires], how their skills perfectly complement each other and why they decided to throw their [hard] hats into the ring and start their own business.
Meet Alex and Zak, co-directors of local business, Pristine Tree People.
1 :: You started Pristine Tree Services a year ago but the two of you have been working together for years, right?
Alex :: That’s right. We met in the UK. I was over there travelling, visiting friends and family and working, and Zak lived there and worked in the same industry. We met when we started working together for the same company for about 18 months before I came back home to Australia.
Zak :: Not long after, I decided to move to Australia and arrived on the 29th of December, 2019.
2 :: You have a good memory!
Zak :: It was my birthday.
3 :: Ah, makes sense! Why did you want to move to Australia?
Zak :: Alex was doing a lot of tree work in and around the bushfires around the Batemans Bay area, so he suggested I fly out and help out.
4 :: That was a pretty hectic introduction to Australia, then.
Zal :: Definitely, we were contracted to support the SES and the firies and dealt with trees they didn’t have the expertise to remove or manage.
Alex :: We were driving through active fire zones, checking trees to see if they were totally burnt out, whether they had any structural rigidity at all or if they were totally gone. Just trying to make the areas around residential areas and where the SES and firies were working as safe as possible for them.
Zak :: We spent a number of weeks around that area. There were entire suburbs that were flattened by fire, it was eerie and everyone had a pretty harrowing story to tell.
5 :: Alex, you’d been self-employed for about eight years before you and Zak started Pristine Tree People.
Alex :: That’s right, I was working all over Sydney, in the Highlands, south coast and right up to Newcastle as a contract climber. I’ve been in the industry all up for about 12 years and the areas I’ve worked in have been pretty extensive.
6 :: So, why did the two of you decide to start your own business?
Zak :: Our skills really complement each other. Alex is one of the top climbers in NSW and does all the climbing work. He’s really good with ropes and rigging and making sure that when we remove or prune trees, nothing gets damaged below us.
I run the job on the ground – doing rope support for Alex while he’s up there, keeping the site safe, managing the crew, liaising with the client, making sure we look after the property, that sort of thing.
Alex :: We also came to the realisation that we were making money for other people in our contracting roles, so we thought it’d be good to make it for ourselves! Both our bodies will only last so long – it’s a pretty physical job – so we want to make the most of that while we can.
7 :: And why the Southern Highlands?
Alex :: I’ve done a lot of work here over the years, my parents live in Burradoo and I really like the Highlands so made the move to Moss Vale. Mum is helping us out on the admin and quoting side of the business while we establish ourselves.
Zak :: I live in Picton at the moment but I’m looking for something in the Highlands now that we’ve committed to basing the business here. And honestly, we’re both country boys….we’ve never been city boys. While Alex was born in Australia, he grew up in the UK and we both lived in regional areas there. We’ve gravitated back towards what we know.
8 :: Now, we came out and watched you guys on a job and it all seemed pretty intuitive. I guess you get that from working together for so long and you really love what you do too.
Alex :: We really want to do the right thing by the client and the environment. This is someone’s property we’ve been entrusted with. We always make sure we leave it in as good a condition [or better sometimes!] than when we found it.
Zak :: We really enjoy working with a client to improve their garden or property whether that’s how it looks with hedging [I did a LOT of hedging in the UK!] or making it a safe place for their kids to play in with tree removal or pruning.
9 :: Tell us more about the services you offer because it is more than tree removal and pruning, isn’t it?
Zak :: We do a full range of tree and gardening work – tree removal, stump grinding, green waste removal, chipping, land clearing, fruit pruning, hedging like we said earlier, vegetation reduction and we also offer up free green firewood and free mulch from our jobs.
Alex :: Another service we offer is tree restoration and habitat pruning.
10 :: What’s habitat mean in the context of tree removal and pruning? We haven’t heard of that before.
Alex :: So if you have a dead tree on your property, most arborists will tell you to cut it down but if it’s out of the way and not going to cause any problems, then we can create what’s called a natural habitat for the native wildlife using the tree by boring artificial hollows into it. Micro organisms thrive in dead trees, it can become a refuge for native wildlife and it’s actually better for the environment to keep it rather than cut it down. It helps the surrounding area and habitat thrive.
Zak :: And you don’t need Council approval. If it’s a dead tree and you have evidence of that from a photo or from us, then habitat pruning is fine.
Alex :: So we did a job on a paddock where there is livestock and the owner wanted to keep the tree so we pruned it and restored the tree to the point where it wouldn’t fall on livestock but then still created a space for the natural habitat to thrive. That’s a win-win situation for everyone.
11 :: Love that! So no doubt you’ve got plenty of qualifications between you for this sort of work.
Alex :: Yep, we’re qualified to various levels in climbing, rigging, horticulture and arboriculture [both in the UK and Australia!] and fully insured.
12 :: Is it just you guys or are you building a team up?
Alex :: We’d love to build a strong Pristine Tree People team. At the moment we bring in casual labour for certain jobs but we’re already growing pretty quickly and we’d love to share our expertise and knowledge with someone keen to get into the industry.
Zak :: It’s a really interesting job and keeps you fit with plenty of physical work. We’d definitely be keen to add to the team if anyone’s looking for a new career or is leaving school and has an interest in the industry.
13 :: What are you enjoying about the work that you’re doing in the Highlands?
Zak :: People seem to care a bit more about the land and environment here. It’s not about removing a tree and it’s see you later…..many of our clients work with us on an ongoing basis to keep their properties safe, healthy and looking good. We might be deadwooding one month and hedging a few months later and doing a tree restoration on the property after that. Locals seem to like to work with the land rather than against it here.
14 :: And how is it living here?
Alex :: I’m really enjoying my commute [well, not having one, actually!]. When I am driving around the Highlands to jobs, it’s an easy drive, we’re working on some pretty amazing properties, there’s more room for everything around here so the jobs are less stressful and we just really like the sense of community here.
Thanks for the chat, guys! Highlanders, we’ve been out on site with Alex and Zak and they do work really intuitively [it was actually really interesting to watch how they work together], are super clean and safe and definitely know their stuff.
If you need help with any of the services the guys described, get in touch with them via their website here. How often do you put stuff like tree removal, pruning, dead wooding and all those sorts of things off saying you’ll get round to it? This is your sign to get around to it!
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