TIMBER RIDGE TREE CARE & TIMBER RIDGE WOOD PRODUCTS
What does an arborist do when he’s not working on other people’s property? For Dustin Meyers it’s, “yard work” on his own property. Meyers turned his passion for trees, the environment, and sustaining wildlife habitat into his life’s work by becoming a certified arborist. He is the owner of Timber Ridge Tree Care and Timber Ridge Wood Products, both located at 4335 Abrigador Trail in Comstock Park.
Timber Ridge Tree Care does everything from tree removal to transplantation to pruning, to storm damage repair, and more, while Timber Ridge Wood primarily does wood recycling and mulching. Meyers is all about “keeping the community thriving and beautiful, keeping the trees in our community healthy.” He has donated ground cover for the White Pine Trail trailhead and Veterans Memorial Park in Plainfield Township, and the Comstock Park Community Plaza.
Meyers started a landscaping and lawn care business, using a startup loan his grandmother gave him, in 1994 after graduating from high school. He decided to specialize in tree work and moved his business to West River Drive in 1998 where he had about a half-acre of property and a small office. As the business grew, he needed more space, and in 2009 he moved to his present location where he has eight acres and a much bigger office building.
When he started his business Meyers says, “It was just me.” There are now 40 full time employees who have jobs doing everything from office work, tree trimming, maintenance work on the 55 trucks, and operating cranes. There are four certified arborists. The company serves an approximately 50-mile radius of residential and commercial customers offering 24/7 emergency removal, land clearing, tree care and maintenance, and more. He says Timber Ridge Tree Care is now “one of the leading providers of specialist arborist and tree maintenance service companies within the greater Grand Rapids area.”
Meyers, who lives in Sparta, grew up in Belmont, graduating from Northview High School. He has family in Comstock Park, so he was familiar with the area when he decided to open his business in Comstock Park. A big plus is being right by the expressway, he said.
Meyers believes rigorous training is the key to good work and makes sure his employees have continuous training to keep up to date on current techniques and technology. Thorough training also ensures safety in hazardous conditions, he said. His own training was on-the-job and studying for the Certified Arborist Exam, a test with some 200 multiple-choice questions on which are divided into areas of expertise such as pruning, safe work practices, diagnosis and treatment, soil management, soil and tree risk management, tree biology, urban forestry.
Someone considering being an arborist has to have a love for trees and the outdoors. It has been the perfect job for Meyers who says there are plenty of opportunities. “You’ve got to enjoy people and be a hard worker,” he said. “It’s great, but it’s not for the faint of heart.”