Before the summer I completed my studies
of Arboriculture and Forestry at Bridgwater
and Taunton College in the UK, gradu-
ating with top marks. I am Swedish but
live in the UK with my English husband.
I have a previous career as a physical thera-
pist, where I had the opportunity to work in
a range of different countries and contexts,
including teaching and research. However,
increasingly, I realised that the place I am hap-
piest is outdoors in nature. I have always loved
trees and feel strongly about taking care of
the natural world. I remember joking that I
would quit my job and become an arborist. A
summer spent living in the forest enabled me
to realise that was what I actually wanted. To
make a longer story short, things worked out
in an amazing way, and here I am, an arborist.
As a physical therapist, I developed a model
for explaining and exploring the complexity
of health, based on a bicycle wheel. As I
learned more about trees and forests, I real-
ised this model could be adapted for trees.
I am currently planning a project for devel-
oping this model, which I call Arboribalance.
I am also very keen to work in a way that
causes as little damage to nature as pos-
sible. I have thus decided to offer ecological
tree services. This includes not working with
chainsaws; instead, I'm going back to the
older ways of working, with saws and axes.
My husband and I have bought an old, aban-
doned log house in the middle of the woods
in southern Sweden. We are currently in
the process of restoring and renovating this
(working hard on our holidays!) and will move
to Sweden in 2023. I am not entirely sure where
my work will take me when we move. I have
a particular interest in fruit trees, as well as
working with forests in a sustainable manner. I
look forward to seeing where this road will lead!
Jenny Wickford
16 CityTREES
Arborist Jenny Wickford owns her own business, Eco Tree Services.
16 CityTREES
