Our Team of Experts

Since our founding in 1929 by Ira F. Wickes, Sr., Wickes Arborists™ has been committed to excellence through knowledge. Our team of professionals achieve licenses and certifications that are rare in the industry.  We are extremely proud of our employees' commitment to providing the best possible care for your trees, lawn, and plants.  Below are some of the licenses and certifications of our staff members.

Certified Arborists

We are proud to be one of the very few tree professionals that employs Certified Arborists (CA). CAs must have experience in arboriculture and pass an examination that is developed by a panel of experts from the International Society of Arborists. This exam assesses thorough competency in and knowledge of the six domains of tree care practices: tree biology; identification and selection; installation and establishment; soil management; pruning, diagnosis, tree protection; and tree risk management. A CA must take continuing education credits in order to maintain certification and keep abreast of new technologies.

Commercial Pesticide Technicians and Applicators

As leaders in our industry, we are licensed to apply plant health care materials in both New York and New Jersey and these materials are applied only by Certified Technicians (CT) and/or Certified Commercial Pesticide Applicators (CCPA). To become a CT, a candidate must complete a minimum of 8 hours training before going into the field as an apprentice. After either completing a minimum of two years experience as an apprentice or obtaining a related college degree, candidates must complete a thirty-hour training course and pass core and category competency exams. Only after years more experience, training and testing can CTs achieve the designation of CCPA. We help our CTs and CCPAs achieve and maintain their accreditations by offering training courses and continuing education credits.

Treecare Safety Professionals

Safety is paramount at Wickes Arborists. When the Tree Care Industry Association developed a certification for safety, we sent our employees to be trained as Certified Treecare Safety Professionals (CTSP). CTSP candidates must have a minimum of three years technical experience with at least one year of assumed responsibility for safety, or six months technical field experience and one year in a professional safety position, or have a related college degree with an internship that provided technical field experience. Once so qualified, applicants must complete a core competencies study guide and attend and complete the CTSP Advanced Safety/Behavioral Training Workshop. Re-certification credits in continuing education are required to maintain the CTSP designation.

Certified Nursery and Landscape Professionals

Because we care for trees, shrubs and turf, we also employ a Certified Nursery and Landscape Professionals (CNLP). In order to qualify for this certification, candidates must have graduated from a recognized 2 or 4 year college with a degree in a horticultural-related field, or must have completed three years experience in the horticultural industry. Candidates must pass a written exam (on soils and fertilizers, plant function and nomenclature, plant identification, plant pest problems, landscape establishment and maintenance, grading and drainage, and hard-scapes) as well as successfully identify both the scientific and common genus and species of live plant specimens.

Registered Consulting Arborists

An arborist must prove both longevity and extensive knowledge of trees before even being considered for membership in the American Society of Consulting Arborists. Applicants must prove their qualifications in the form of continued education and experience before attending the required week-long training academy, passing a rigorous exam, and successfully submitting and passing three reports that meet strict professional review standards. There are fewer than two hundred active RCAs in the world today, and they are considered by many in the industry to be the foremost authority on the legal, environmental and aesthetic considerations of trees and plants.