Get To Know Leaf & Limb: Meet Nora

This interview is going to be a little different. I am interviewing myself. I suppose it will be more of a musing about how I got here and why I have so many opinions on sub/urban tree and land care!

Go ahead and introduce yourself however you want.

So, by way of introduction, I’m Nora. I spent the first 5 (plus a bit) decades of my life in Canada. I was an Air Force brat, so moving every couple of years was the norm. I’ve lived and worked all over Canada, from the far north to both coasts and plenty of places in between. I’ve also visited and spent time in almost every state. I think that has given me the outlook that there’s something interesting to discover wherever one finds oneself. I never foresaw living here, yet here I am. I admit I love being able to wear one layer of clothes for most of the year.

My education is in geology. Originally, I was going to be a marine biologist, like many kids my age who grew up enthralled by The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. Halfway through my first year of university, I switched to geology. I had always loved collecting rocks. I worked as a geologist in the natural gas sector, which was not my dream, but it was the only place a geology graduate could find a job in those days.

So, how did you end up working with trees?

Funny you should ask. When I bought a home with quite a few trees, I thought I should learn more about trees and gardening in general to be a good steward of the land. I’d always, sort of, had some gardening projects going on wherever I’ve lived. And my mom was a big influence. I started reading and really getting into the relationship between gardens and the natural world, or what passes for it in our sub/urban spaces. I eventually started teaching and writing about these things for a major Canadian newspaper and a few regional magazines.

Then, one day, I got laid off from my job in the natural gas industry. It was just what I was waiting for. I asked an arborist friend if I could work part-time with trees. I thought I just needed to learn a few cool things to pad out my ad hoc “horticultural” cred. Well, I learned that really understanding trees would take years, and that I couldn’t imagine any job more fun than climbing trees and getting paid for it! So, at age 45, I decided to become an arborist, and I’ve been doing that for 20 years.

I’ve been working with trees in the South for over a dozen years. The diversity of species and sheer size of the trees here were big changes from working with high plains and foothills trees. I knew it would be, but you don’t really know until you experience it. The forests that dominate this place have taught me a great deal.

How did you get to Leaf & Limb?

About 5 years ago, I realized that the more industrial side of what passed for tree “care” - the days when perfectly nice trees were being dismantled and the ground was being torn up by heavy machinery - was eroding my connection with Nature. I heard that Leaf & Limb had stopped doing that kind of work. I wondered if they would hire an old girl like me. They did! For a few years, I was able to climb, run ropes, and do all the high-adrenaline things that make this job so much fun, all while – and this is important – prioritizing the health of trees and the soil they live in. Leaf & Limb recognizes that ecosystem health, especially the health of soil, is foundational to the health of our planet. That reassured me that I was exactly where I needed to be. Now that we offer regenerative land care beyond just trees, such as Piedmont Prairies, Pocket Forests, and Privacy Thickets, it just makes it even better.

Last year, my role changed, and for a year, I have been a Leaf & Limb voice. I’m a writer again. Being able to write for a company that shares my values, not just to fill a “niche” but from honest conviction, is the best later-in-life job I can imagine.