Stephen Frank

Stephen Frank

Demonstrating how trees provide positive community, climate and economic resilience.

Stephen Frank realised early in his arborist career that the benefits of trees were overlooked and undervalued. He wanted to promote trees, and to work with people who felt the same way, and that’s how Treelogic was founded in 1997.

Since then Treelogic has become an industry leading arboricultural consultancy, growing from two to 13 consultants. Stephen has worked hard to build a strong and diligent team and takes pride in watching them grow and develop into talented consultants.

While initially focusing on residential property owners and developers, Stephen’s clients now include local councils, schools, universities, golf clubs and commercial projects.

As his expertise in the art and science of tree assessing has built the consultancy, new challenges are expanding his focus into policy development and strategic approaches to urban forest management.

Thanks to Melbourne’s high ‘liveability’ generating a population boom beyond all expectations, and the resulting urban densification, trees are under more pressure than ever before.

The irony is not lacking on Stephen, who knows that the management of the remaining trees is more important than ever.

“The challenge with urban densification is bringing back the balance between buildings and trees, and this has two parts. Firstly, protecting and managing existing trees – especially the large trees as these provide massive benefits. Secondly to plant little trees which will grow into large trees, but to make sure that the right tree is planted in the right place, in the right way, at the right time.

In so many developments, the wrong species is chosen. It’s not planted properly. It’s not maintained or protected, and it ends up causing problems. This results in communities believing that trees cause problems, when trees actually provide solutions.”

Key to protecting and preserving Melbourne’s ‘liveability’ is improving everyone’s understanding of the essential role tree’s play in the quality of our lives. Stephen sees improving the community’s understanding about the benefits of trees as key to the work of Treelogic.

 

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