I care about the environment, and yet I do a lot of driving that is not in the carpool lane, to look at trees. I have decided to try something new and see if it works out. I have long pondered how to reduce my travel, subsequent gas use and the associated contribution to climate change. An idea that has always appealed to me is the possibility of doing some of my work without physically going to a tree or job site. There are several challenges to assessing a tree without actually seeing it in person, but there may be some circumstances where it will work with the use of digital photography sent via email or “Dropbox”.

If this program is successful there could be many benefits:

• I will only charge for the actual minutes that I work on a job, and there will be no travel surcharge, saving you, the client, money.
• I will be able to help more people by reducing the amount of time I spend on the road.
• I will save wear and tear on my vehicles.
• I will reduce carbon dioxide emissions, thereby reducing my contribution to climate change.

Requirements: In order to be eligible to contract with me to do a Virtual Site Visit, a client will have to meet certain criteria.

1. Clients must have internet access and have access to a digital camera, and know how to take digital photos and send them over the internet.
2. The situation must be discussed on the phone and pre-approved. Not all problems can be addressed this way.
3. Clients must be willing to sign and return an agreement acknowledging the limitations of answering questions about a tree by examining a photograph and absolving Jan C. Scow Consulting Arborists, LLC of any shortcomings that may result from such an “off site” evaluation.