Robert Phillips

It goes without saying that the tree care industry is filled with many people who are unsung heroes in the field of arboriculture. Robert Phillips most certainly is one of them. In this day and age of “instant heroes” provided to us through the world of social media – in which posting one video can instantly make you a so-called celebrity/influencer who we are supposed to look up to – he does not quite fit the bill. Though if you look around, you can find him on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Phillips, however, is the real deal and not a “one-hit wonder.”

A lot of the younger, newer climbers may not know who he is, but Phillips has more than 50 years of experience in the world of tree care, combining yesteryear’s knowledge and climbing techniques with today’s technology, as well as sharing his vast experience in the care of trees. He currently resides in the Sonoma Valley area outside of Santa Rosa, California.

A third-generation arborist, Phillips started climbing around the age of 16, but as he will tell you, he was climbing and doing tree work long before that – just not being paid for it! You see, he was one of those “lucky” kids growing up in a tree care family business, where the kids were able to work with their relatives long before the thought of being paid for it ever entered their young minds. He started with the well-established, highly respected company of Sohner Tree Service, based in San Anselmo, California. He left that family business and joined Pacific Slope Tree Cooperative Inc., a 29-year TCIA member company now based in Point Reyes Station, Calif. After that, in 2007, along with his now-wife, Edith Townsend Layton Phillips, he started his own tree care business, TW Ranch Inc., based in Santa Rosa. He subsequently closed that business and currently operates as an independent tree care provider.

Phillips’ grandfather, Roger Sohner, was one of the original founding members of the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Robert and his father, Jack Phillips, carried on with the tradition. During his working career, Robert Phillips always made time to give back to the profession by serving the Western Chapter in many capacities. He served on the WCISA Board starting in 1998. He rose to the position of president in 2004, and also served as the Western Chapter’s representative to the ISA council of representatives for six years. He has served on the WCISA finance committee for three years and currently serves as the Western Chapter’s historian. In the 1990s, Phillips was involved in the California Arborist Association’s tree-climbing training.

Phillips is a recipient of ISA’s Award of Merit, Award of Commendation, Award of Achievement and R.W. Harris Award for Excellence in Education. He also was bestowed the Order of the Garter by the Shady Ladies of the Western Chapter. He has been a guest speaker at almost every ISA chapter in the U.S., has provided educational seminars at regional meetings and has been a guest speaker at WCISA annual conferences. In addition to all the above, Phillips has written numerous articles for the Western Chapter’s newsletter, as well as contributed articles to TCI Magazine and the former U.S.-based Arbor Age magazine.

Robert Phillips has worked to help generations of climbers to climb trees safely and with mechanical advantage. He is shown here wearing a Bry-Dan saddle and using a blue-line mug, designed by Don Blair as a compact throwline and shot-pouch holder. All photos courtesy of Robert Phillips.

Climbing
When Phillips was learning to climb, his first saddle was a rope saddle with some padding on it. But it wasn’t long before he met Don Blair and was introduced to the Bry-Dan saddle, which was developed by Ed Hobbs and modified by Blair, and which truly revolutionized the world (and comfort) of tree saddles. He has climbed and worked in other saddles, but has always come back to the Bry-Dan. It was the precursor of design for all the “modern” saddles/harnesses.

Like all of us older climbers, Phillips climbed using a taut-line hitch, but once the Blake’s hitch came along, he quickly switched to using that knot. Never one to settle on a particular way of tying rope, he has experimented with probably more knots and hitches than this author can name! He also has been instrumental in developing and sharing many different climbing techniques, using various methods and then demonstrating them during exhibitions.

Training
In 1989, Phillips told Don Blair he was interested in training arborists, as Blair, today owner of Blair’s Arborist Equipment LLC, had pioneered the demonstration of rigging and other arborist skills throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. Blair encouraged him and said he would do whatever he could to help him get established.

Following the success of an aerial-rescue video Blair had just done for the National Arborist Association (NAA, now TCIA), Robert Felix, NAA executive director in 1989, asked Blair about doing a two-part series on rigging. Blair accepted, and in 1991, he asked Phillips and Ken Johnson (another of our industry’s unsung heroes) to complete his team. To promote the video, NAA sent Phillips, Johnson and Blair to present rigging demonstrations in cities across the U.S.
In 1993, British arborists Nick Beardmore and William Kew-Winder contacted Blair about presenting rigging demonstrations in England. Blair readily accepted, and after a few years of planning, Blair packed up his Hobbs Lowering Device, blocks and connecting links, and Phillips packed his Bry-Dan and a bag full of his favorite useful gadgets at the time. Having traveled throughout the UK and Europe, Johnson packed an umbrella, and the “Tree Musketeers” took off for jolly old England.

Beardmore and Kew-Winder had, over the preceding years, organized two successful and very well-attended two-day workshops, the first at Kew Gardens, the second at Merrist Wood College, home of the UK’s prestigious school of arboriculture. The skills and equipment demonstrated surprised, awed and excited the attendees, according to Blair, marking the beginning of a renaissance in updating long-outdated methods, equipment and arborist-skills training in the UK. Blair credits the trio’s cohesiveness, camaraderie and respect for each other – as well as expanding the scope of the presentations – as keys to the success of their ground-breaking demonstrations. Looking back, Philips, Blair and Johnson can take pride in the fact that their efforts helped change the profession of tree care, maintenance and removal worldwide.

Phillips has worked his entire life assisting both men and women to excel in ways that make it easier to climb and work aloft in trees. For at least nine years, Phillips took part in demonstrating tree-climbing techniques at the annual TCI EXPO.

Historian
Phillips is a steward of arboricultural history and, like Blair, has a vast amount of gear that transcends the different eras of tree care, for both climbing and rigging and the care of trees. He probably could open a museum showcasing his collection. Phillips will tell you the story about the time some thieves broke in and stole a lot of his gear. He was relieved when he saw that they took the newer equipment and left behind what they thought was “junk.” Thank goodness they were clueless as to the real treasures they left behind!

Phillips also was a tree-climbing competitor in his younger days. He started competing in 1975 and stopped in 2005. It’s an incredible achievement to be able to stay at the top of your game in competitions for 30 years. As stated earlier, Phillips can be shown something and then have the lightbulb go off in his head, and he can evolve the process in such a way that it will be easier and better to work with in both competition and his everyday work needs.

One of the things climbers now take for granted is the static, removable false crotch, set from the ground. This is a technique Phillips developed more than 30 years ago, in 1992. It allows you to set a block from the ground. He also came up with ways of using knots and small pulleys for tending lines utilizing mechanical advantages in both climbing and rigging.

Phillips works with trees every day, either in the field or as an “in-the-field” trainer of today’s methods, techniques and ideas. He tries to work locally without having to grow the business so large that he would have to spend most of his time running the office, which would cause him to lose that personal touch that he has with his customers and the trees he cares for.

Conclusion
I have been fortunate over the last few years to be able to build a relationship with Phillips and call him a friend. He is always open to helping me with questions and answers and providing me with an abundance of photos and documents on the tree work he and his family have done over the years. I want to say thank you, my friend, for everything you have done and continue to do for all of us. To me, for sure, you are a hero.

Chris Girard is an ISA Certified Arborist, a Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT) Level 1 Technician and co-owner of Girard Tree Service, a 17-year TCIA member company based in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.