Good Deed Shows No Tree Is Too Big For South Windsor Arborists

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — A South Windsor-based tree contractor had a chance to show off just what a new piece of equipment could do recently while also performing a good deed.

Jason Yerke, a Vernon native and the owner of Distinctive Tree Care in South Windsor, recently purchased a new piece of equipment to take down dead and dying trees along roads and highways. He was looking for a place to get his crews practice time on the machine.

Yerke and his company do a lot of work for the state Department of Transportation and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection removing dead and dying trees from along state highways and from state parks. The machines Jason has purchased enable his crews to do in a day what a traditional tree crew, using a bucket truck, would take weeks to achieve. The new one takes it to a new level.

Yerke and his team happened to be at a job site in Vernon and spotted a cluster of dead and dying oak trees near the entrance to Valley Falls Park. The trees were also on the radar of Jeff Schambach, the town's tree warden and lead foreman for the Vernon Department of Public Works and Vernon Parks and Recreation Director Marty Sitler.

Both were combing their respective budgets and working with town administrators to find funds to hire a contractor to remove the trees, which had fallen victim to invasive pests such as the emerald ash borer, years of drought, serious storms and age, officials said.

Yerke called Schambach and offered to help.

With the blessing of Vernon officials, Yerke marked the dangerous trees.

Once the trees were marked for removal, Yerke unleashed his brand new, million-dollar tree removal machine manufactured by the German company Sennebogen, which allows Distinctive Tree Care crews to take down a massive oak tree in minutes. The Sennebogen is equipped with a large tree grapple and a 32-inch harvester saw. Operator Josh Levesque, also a Vernon native, grabbed a tree with the grapple, then the saw-cut the tree. Levesque used the machine to gently lower a section of tree to the ground. The machine and a skilled operator can take down a large tree with only four cuts, and remove as many as 200 trees in a day. It would take weeks for a traditional tree crew using a bucket truck to do that much work, officials said.

"This machine is incredible," Schambach said as he, Sitler and Yerke watched the Sennebogen and Levesque take down one tree after another.

In just a few hours, dozens of trees were removed. Days later Yerke’s crew returned with a large chipper to dispose of the trees.

Earlier this month, Vernon Mayor Daniel Champagne and the Town Council honored and thanked Yerke for what he and his company did that day.

"I thank and appreciate all Jason Yerke and Distinctive Tree Care did in stepping up and helping our community," Champagne said. "His generous contribution and spirit of volunteerism show why Vernon is such a wonderful place to live."

Sitler said he was was impressed by Yerke's generosity and the impact of the work at Valley Falls Park.

"Jason saved Vernon taxpayers a lot of money and helped us ensure a safer experience for everyone who uses one of our most popular parks and swimming areas," Sitler said.

For Yerke, the test at Valley Falls confirmed just how useful the Sennebogen will be.

"I saw this machine at a trade show about four years ago and I was hooked," he said.

Yerke saw a need for such a machine, especially along Connecticut’s highways and tree-lined rural roads. A lot of trees were going to have to come down and the Sennebogen would allow the work to be done efficiently, economically and safely.

It also makes a hazardous job a lot safer because no one has to work in the "fall zone," he said.

"The operator is in a well-protected cab with guards and hardened glass, and has tremendous stability, power and control," Yerke said. "It’s very safe."

Yerke and Distinctive Tree Care already had four smaller Sennebogens that can reach 44 feet and were adequate for about 80 percent of trees that need to come down. The new machine can reach 68 feet and will get the trees the other machines could not reach, Yerke said.

At Valley Falls, Yerke and his crew took down more than two dozen large oak trees in a single afternoon. The estimated cost for the work exceeds $50,000, but Yerke did it for free.

"I grew up here in Vernon and I learned to swim here at Valley Falls," Yerke said. "This is a great way for me to give back to my hometown."

Yerke studied urban forestry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is a Connecticut-licensed arborist.