Austin Fiedler, owner and lead arborist of Lemur Tree Care, had to spend some time finding the next step in his life after his career on Penn State’s football field was cut short due to injury. Still in State College, Fiedler found aboriculture, also known as tree care.

Looking for a summer job, Fiedler found his first position in the tree care industry with Todd Fuller and Jake Allegar at Fuller’s Quality Tree service. At first, according to Fiedler, he did not love the field of work. In search for another position as the summer came to a close, he moved over to Cutting Edge Tree Professionals.

“My friends started the company… and they were struggling to get employees because it is kind of a job field that usually gets thrill seekers and they are either really great or make bad life choices,” explained Fiedler. “So they needed reliable help, and I started helping them.”

Putting a brief pause on his own career goals at the time to help his friend’s company, Fiedler ended up developing a passion for the tree care industry and did a semester at Penn State Mont Alto in the forest technology program.

With improved tree care knowledge, a business license and five years of experiencing the highest standards of tree care, Fiedler decided to start his own company: Lemur Tree Care.

“I worked with them for five years roughly… and they got to a point where they were taking off, so I decided it was a good time to bring what I learned with them to my hometown,” said Fiedler.

What makes Fiedler different than other big tree removal companies in the area is the biological approach he takes when examining a tree’s condition, which he learned through his training.

“Lemur Tree Care is trying to have a low impact when we do our work so that we are not effecting the environment around the tree. We are here to help the trees,” explained Fiedler.

Fiedler added that the company is not going to be “chainsaw-happy,” but rather analyze the tree’s condition and make a decision that keeps the tree happy and the people happy.

Just starting their work in January of 2019, Fiedler looked into what the company has in store for their its clients in the future.

“Our goal is not to be the biggest company, but rather our goal is to maintain the highest quality,” said Fiedler. “That comes from whether we are doing structural pruning or we are doing technical removals that the other guys aren’t super confident in doing.”

Services that Lemur Tree Care include: tree removal with stump grinding, tree pruning, tree safety consultations, tree cabling/bracing, and brush mowing/removal. The services can be found in Lycoming, Northumberland, Montour, Columbia and Union counties.

For more information, visit lemurtreecare.com or visit its ­­Facebook page.