Notes from the field and the standards.

The tree·canopy blog covers running a tree-care firm and getting a tree survey right, including BS 5837 and the standards used in other countries.

On running a tree-care firm and getting a tree survey right. It is what we’ve learned, with no product pitch.

Standards & technical
What a tree survey needs to show in New Zealand
New Zealand has no dedicated national tree-assessment standard: arborists work from council District Plan rules, often alongside Australia's AS 4970. Here's how that actually plays out.
17 September 2026 · 5 min
Standards & technical
What a tree survey needs to show in Canada
Canada has no single national BS 5837 equivalent: CSA Z7700, ANSI A300, and a patchwork of municipal tree bylaws all overlap. Here's what actually gets checked.
17 September 2026 · 6 min
Standards & technical
AS 4970: what a tree survey needs to show in Australia
Australia's answer to BS 5837 is AS 4970-2009: Tree Protection Zones, Structural Root Zones, and the two calculations a development application will be checked against.
17 September 2026 · 6 min
Running the business
How to price a tree removal, without guessing
Four things actually move the price on a tree removal: access, size and rigging, disposal, and risk. A framework you can say out loud on site, not a spreadsheet.
17 September 2026 · 6 min
Standards & technical
BS 5837: what a tree survey actually needs to show
What a BS 5837 tree survey must capture to survive a planning officer's first read: category grading, root protection areas, and the schedule that ties them together.
17 September 2026 · 7 min

What a tree survey needs to show in New Zealand