ABOUT US

Meet The Team

Cormac Nagan
ISA Certified Arborist SO-5589A
Cormac started Aerial Innovations Tree Care in 2007. He fell in love with trees while working for his family’s landscaping business and went on to earn a B.S. in Urban Forest Management from Western Illinois University. He became a Certified Arborist while working for an international arborist firm and is the reigning Southern Chapter tree climbing champion. Cormac enjoys splicing rope, traveling (usually to places with interesting trees), and competing in tree climbing competitions.

Erica Strein
ISA Certified Arborist SO-6518A
Erica will most likely be the person you talk to when calling us with questions or to set up an appointment.  You may also see her out in the field as part of the crew.  She has been running the office at Aerial Innovations full time since 2008. Erica’s interests include playing water polo, running, traveling to tree climbing competitions, reading, and learning about trees.

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Why Choose Us?

• Our team of certified arborists prioritizes ongoing education and safety to offer the highest level of service to our clients and their trees. An arborist by definition is an individual who is trained in the art and science of planting, caring for, and maintaining individual trees. International Society of Arboriculture arborist certification is a voluntary process by which individuals can document their base of knowledge. Certification provides a measurable assessment of an individual’s knowledge and competence required to provide proper tree care and mandates continuing education.
• A certified arborist will be on-site, and most often doing the work for the entire duration of your project. This ensures a higher quality of work than our competitors who may send an arborist to give an estimate but not necessarily be doing or even supervising the work site.
• By having a crew who specializes in climbing trees, we are able to work in tight areas and around structures or valuable landscapes while minimizing damage caused by heavy equipment.
• We meet with clients for a free onsite consultation so that we can both understand your preferences and asses the jobsite. There are many factors that can affect a job such as surrounding landscapes or structures, and health and accessibility of the tree. Basic consultations and estimates are free of charge. We are flexible with meeting times and understand that evenings or weekends may be more convenient for you.
• We carry both General Liability and Workman’s Compensation Insurance and will be glad to provide certificates of insurance prior to working with you. Just call or e-mail our office.
• Aerial Innovations is a locally owned company who cares about our clients, their trees, our employees, and our community.

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Tree Climbing Competitions

Tree Climbing competitions are held to showcase the skills and knowledge of tree care professionals as well as promote safe working practices, demonstrate innovations in equipment and techniques, and provide industry recognition.

They also provide the opportunity fellow tree climbers from around the world to share camaraderie and a bit of competiveness, and climb some of the coolest trees in the world!

Generally, competitions consist of five events and the top competitors in these preliminary events advance to an all encompassing Master’s Challenge. 

Aerial Innovations Owner, Cormac Nagan is the reigning ISA Southern Chapter Tree Climbing Champion.  He represented the Southern Chapter at the 2009 International Tree Climbing Championships in Providence, Rhode Island where he finished 4th overall and won the Aerial Rescue and Throw Line events.

Here’s an article from the Raleigh News Observer about Cormac’s trip to compete at the international tree climbing championships:  “Raleigh Arborist Enters Tree Climbing Competition”