​Chris Mest loves trees so much that he kisses them
Chris Mest loves trees so much that he kisses them. Let’s let him explain why.
“When some people find out I am an arborist and hear the passion when I talk about trees, they call me a ‘tree hugger’ as if there is something wrong with it. I decided to tell them I had moved beyond tree hugging and that I was a ‘tree kisser’. To back this up I have kissed at least 80 trees. Whenever possible, I have my photo taken doing it, most often by my wife, Kathi.”
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This is not the only thing Chris does to express his love of trees. He works for a large landscape company focusing on plant health care. Keeping mature trees alive is very important to him. He believes that only dead, dying and hazardous trees should be removed. Chris stresses to colleagues and customers the fact that trees get better at their job as they get bigger and older; not something that can be said about other forms of life. He also writes children’s stories about trees and tree care which his wife illustrates. Here’s Chris again,
“I decided that we need to influence people to appreciate trees starting at a young age. As the saying goes, children are our future. I never really wanted to be a writer, but I figured the written word is a good way to get the message across. I mix in a little humor and the stories are illustrated by Kathi. I call them ‘stories’ but they are more like conversations with pictures, usually between the two main characters, the father and his 5-year old son. Very similar to the Mark Trail comic strip.”
The first book, “Jake and the Arborist”, is complete and now Chris and Kathi are looking to raise money to print at least 500 copies. They want to distribute them to schools for free where Chris will talk to children about the story and trees in general. They will also be available in select retail stores. You can find out more about it at: (http://treeguardians.org/)
Another story, “Jake and the Magic Acorns”, was posted on the Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) website (Scroll down to November and look for the picture below.) as part of the initial OAKtober celebration.
Artwork by his wife, Kathi Quinn (picture above is taken from the story).
Chris is a member of CRTI and is heading the effort for children’s outreach which is just starting out. He has no plans to retire because he loves being an arborist so much. Like Dr. Seuss’ Lorax, he speaks for the trees.