Silviculture:
The Care and Cultivation of Trees
Safe • Sustainable • Science-Based Tree Care
We are a family owned and operated business serving Staunton, Virginia and the surrounding counties. Danielle and Jason LaRose started Queen City Silviculture in 2017.
When you call, you speak with Stephanie Yerro.
Our production team-Emma, Lucie, John and Dre- will come to thoughtfully, efficiently and skillfully take care of the trees on your property.
When you call, you speak with Stephanie Yerro.
Our production team-Emma, Lucie, John and Dre- will come to thoughtfully, efficiently and skillfully take care of the trees on your property.
Jason LaRose
Kate Simon Lifestyle Photography
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Jason LaRose was born in the Catskill region of upstate NY where he trained as a cook. He moved to the Shenandoah Valley after high school in 2002.
He began his career in Arboriculture after the birth of his first child in 2006. He was lucky to be trained by some of the best climbers and foremen in the business at that time and was an apt student of tree care. After a few years of "on the job training" Jason started looking to expand his knowledge base. He became an ISA Certified Arborist in 2013,Tree Climber Specialist in 2015 and Certified Tree Care Safety Professional in 2016. Jason particularly enjoys the variety of work inherent in tree care. He gets to be artistic when pruning a tree (large or small) and gets to be very logical when doing removals which entails safe control of heavy sections of tree while working at height. It is especially fun using the big saws and big chipper. In 2017, he started Queen City Silviculture with his wife, Danielle, out of a Subaru hatchback. Currently, QCS has five full time employees, 4 trucks, 2 chippers and compact loaders. The production team services Augusta, Albemarle, Rockingham, Rockbridge counties, and points beyond. Being an expert climber and tree care foreman for many years prepared Jason for the challenges of day-to-day tree work, however he needed to look further to become a successful business owner/operator. He found those resources in many places, including his wife, Danielle, who already was a successful entrepreneur and the Staunton Creative Community Fund. The fund helped Jason and Danielle write a business plan and get initial funding for equipment. As Queen City Silviculture enters its sixth year, Jason is looking harder at the big picture for the business and himself personally. He and Danielle recently started growing native tree saplings sourced from VA Department of Forestry and they are gearing up to offer milling services for the local area. When not at work, Jason enjoys cooking, playing with the kids, playing basketball, handball and music and having quality time with friends and family. He is excited about the opportunities for growth being a small business owner presents, and being able to pass his knowledge on to the next generation of Arborists and Silviculturalists. |
Danielle David LaRose
Kate Simon Lifestyle Photography
Danielle grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, biking around the countryside, playing in the streams and hiding from her brothers up in her favorite Maple tree. She graduated from Bridgewater College with a Bachelors in Fine Arts then moved to the Northern Neck of Virginia. During her time on the coast, she worked for a modern architecture firm then started her own business designing area rugs which were hand knotted in Nepal.
When she moved back to the Valley, Staunton proved to be the perfect spot to find a creative supportive community nestled in an inspiring outdoor adventure land. The allure of the land led her to further cultivate her knowledge of plants and soil by getting a Permaculture Design Certificate. She has worked on a market farm, for a native landscaper and a fine gardener and now acquires plants in she and Jason’s ever expanding chip mulch beds.
Danielle and Jason, together, have six children. Danielle enjoys hiking, playing with her children, cooking, composting experiments, swimming, yoga, painting and planning trips with her family.
When she moved back to the Valley, Staunton proved to be the perfect spot to find a creative supportive community nestled in an inspiring outdoor adventure land. The allure of the land led her to further cultivate her knowledge of plants and soil by getting a Permaculture Design Certificate. She has worked on a market farm, for a native landscaper and a fine gardener and now acquires plants in she and Jason’s ever expanding chip mulch beds.
Danielle and Jason, together, have six children. Danielle enjoys hiking, playing with her children, cooking, composting experiments, swimming, yoga, painting and planning trips with her family.
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Emma McCartneyEmma McCartney grew up in the Mid-West with an overwhelming love for the outdoors and nature. She graduated from college with an Outdoor Education degree and spent the next several years hopping around the country working as an outdoors guide. She stumbled into organic farming along the way but it would become a 6 year long labor of love and is what inevitably brought her here to Central Virginia.
Before joining Queen City Silviculture she worked for 3 years in horticulture doing fine gardening and landscaping in the Charlottesville area.The transition into arboriculture has been a great natural progression and challenge from gardening and landscaping. Emma loves being able to climb around in beautiful trees all day and learning about more holistic tree maintenance and care, while being able to work hard in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley! |
Lucie Oechslin
Lucie Oechslin grew up in the Shenandoah valley, spending her early days playing in the garden and climbing in her favorite backyard magnolia tree. Her love for the natural world grew with time, and she graduated from Mary Baldwin University with a bachelors degree in environmental biology. After graduation, Lucie sought outdoor seasonal work, moving from place to place (often living out of a tent) and learning new skills. Within about a year and a half, she learned how to build and maintain hiking trails, fell trees in the forest, operate ski lifts, and collect ecological field data for assessing land health. Her pursuits brought Lucie all the way from Virginia to the mountains and high desert of central and northwest Colorado. An avid hiker and backpacker, she loved the dramatic western landscape, but eventually returned to her beloved Shenandoah valley to explore career options more seriously. As a lover of ecology, manual labor, and thoughtful design, the field of Arboriculture seemed to be the perfect intersection. Lucie appreciates the holistic approach to tree work and high standards of QCS and feels incredibly lucky to learn from the best!
What do we do and what makes us unique?
Urban silviculture advocates the role of trees as a critical part of the urban infrastructure.
Urban foresters plant and maintain trees, support appropriate tree and forest preservation, conduct research and promote the many benefits trees provide.