We love trees.
We are a family owned and operated business here in Staunton, Virginia. Danielle and Jason LaRose started Queen City Silviculture in 2017.
When you call, you speak with Danielle or Jason. Jason is the ISA Certified Arborist who meets with you. Emma, Cameron, Talbot, Robert, Shane and Jason will come to thoughtfully, efficiently and skillfully take care of the trees on your property.
When you call, you speak with Danielle or Jason. Jason is the ISA Certified Arborist who meets with you. Emma, Cameron, Talbot, Robert, Shane and Jason will come to thoughtfully, efficiently and skillfully take care of the trees on your property.
Jason LaRose, ISA Certified Arborist
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! |
Cameron BillerCameron grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, surrounded by beautiful countryside. He quickly developed a deep appreciation for nature and would spend all his free time in Shenandoah National Park with his dog, Sadie. This eventually brought him to employment at the park as a Youth Conservation Corps crew member, maintaining trails and rehabilitating backcountry campsites. From there he would go on to pursue a career as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service. While with the Forest Service he got to actively play a role in tree and forest management; from felling dead and diseased trees, to planting the saplings that would take their place. He came to QCS with a clear goal: to be able to safely bring down any tree. However, since joining he's realized there's much more to tree work than that. Now he really enjoys learning about tree health and development, getting to be creative with pruning, and being able to climb around Virginia's beautiful trees. In his free time Cameron likes to play music, go backpacking, and play with big chainsaws.
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Talbot Armstrong
Before Talbot entered tree work, he worked in concrete manufacturing and agricultural services. He learned to work with his hands, and drove commercial trucks. Talbot has been deeply interested in holistic plant, animal and nature management which led him to take Soil Food Web School courses and also led him to Queen City Silviculture.
Some goals Talbot has been working towards are simply soaking up as much information as he can about tree care, including climbing skills, pruning skills, rigging knowledge, and tree biology. He loves all the little details that make a tree, a tree, that often go unnoticed, like different structures of leaf scars and buds that can be used for identification in winter. He loves to wonder at the great structures that trees grow into. "Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky" - Kahlil Gibran.
Talbot's family moved a lot when he was a child as his father was in the Navy. Talbot went to high school in Warrenton, VA and later he moved to Harrisonburg. He has three cats, and Talbot says one of them can climb trees better than him. If it's warm out, he likes to go work in the garden or go for walks and appreciate the nature around him, and if it's cold out he likes to read nonfiction books.
Some goals Talbot has been working towards are simply soaking up as much information as he can about tree care, including climbing skills, pruning skills, rigging knowledge, and tree biology. He loves all the little details that make a tree, a tree, that often go unnoticed, like different structures of leaf scars and buds that can be used for identification in winter. He loves to wonder at the great structures that trees grow into. "Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky" - Kahlil Gibran.
Talbot's family moved a lot when he was a child as his father was in the Navy. Talbot went to high school in Warrenton, VA and later he moved to Harrisonburg. He has three cats, and Talbot says one of them can climb trees better than him. If it's warm out, he likes to go work in the garden or go for walks and appreciate the nature around him, and if it's cold out he likes to read nonfiction books.
Robert Clemmer
Robert graduated from Hampden Sydney College with degrees in History and Classical Studies. One of the Greek proverbs that stuck with him include; "Societies grow great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they'll never sit in. After college, Robert spent time in New Mexico with the Philmont Scout Ranch's Conservation Department, learning about trail building, dry stack masonry, and how to use a chainsaw. He also spent time with the Coconino Rural Environment Corps, an Americorps program focused on work with the National Forest Service and the National Park Service. At the Rock Eagle Environmental Education Center in Eatonton, GA, Robert was an Environmental Educator, working with students in the outdoors, creating a connection between youth and nature. Working at Rock Eagle also honed his skills working with high ropes, becoming comfortable with climbing, belaying, and ensuring participant safety.
Robert enjoys working outside, working the QCS crew, and using all the technical skills to safely climb. Robert wants to climb giants and learn more about tree biology. Working conservation and farming jobs, he's learned a lot about soil biology and botany, but now has the opportunity to expand his knowledge of trees. While farming, Robert learned the importance of perennials - perennials build soil. Trees are the ultimate perennial!
Robert grew up in Staunton, but after college traveled the country, adventuring in New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Georgia. After a couple of years in GA, Robert had the opportunity to move back to Staunton and eventually found QCS.
Robert finds time to go outside, hiking, climbing, and canoeing. He also plays the mandolin and accordion and you might be able to find him busking in downtown Staunton.
Robert enjoys working outside, working the QCS crew, and using all the technical skills to safely climb. Robert wants to climb giants and learn more about tree biology. Working conservation and farming jobs, he's learned a lot about soil biology and botany, but now has the opportunity to expand his knowledge of trees. While farming, Robert learned the importance of perennials - perennials build soil. Trees are the ultimate perennial!
Robert grew up in Staunton, but after college traveled the country, adventuring in New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Georgia. After a couple of years in GA, Robert had the opportunity to move back to Staunton and eventually found QCS.
Robert finds time to go outside, hiking, climbing, and canoeing. He also plays the mandolin and accordion and you might be able to find him busking in downtown Staunton.
Shane Murrow
After growing up on a family farm and studying biology in Oklahoma, Shane moved to the Shenandoah valley in 2016 to work at Polyface Farm. The abundant natural resources and the kind people of the Swoope community influenced me to call the valley home.
Coming from a regenerative farming background, I enjoy observing and nurturing ecological phenomenons. That is why I was drawn to work at Queen City Silviculture. The whole team is eager to educate any who will listen about the many facets making up tree health.
Having milling experience, I see the lumber from the trees we remove as a gift. A once in every two hundred and fifty year harvest, in some instances. Giving the tree a second life, creating furniture to display a tree's beauty for generations is what inspires me to continue developing a lumber sector with Queen City Silviculture.
Coming from a regenerative farming background, I enjoy observing and nurturing ecological phenomenons. That is why I was drawn to work at Queen City Silviculture. The whole team is eager to educate any who will listen about the many facets making up tree health.
Having milling experience, I see the lumber from the trees we remove as a gift. A once in every two hundred and fifty year harvest, in some instances. Giving the tree a second life, creating furniture to display a tree's beauty for generations is what inspires me to continue developing a lumber sector with Queen City Silviculture.
What do we do and what makes us unique?
Urban silviculture
The care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment.
Urban forestry 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.
The care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment.
Urban forestry 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.
We begin by assessing your trees and listening to your needs.
We will provide options for your budget.
We are able to help you create a long term plan for the investment of your land.
We are able to help you create a long term plan for the investment of your land.
Staunton VA
540-487-1203
jason@queencitysilviculture.com
540-487-1203
jason@queencitysilviculture.com