For NSW Powerlines manager Jeremy Casey, a good day at work isn’t just about getting it done. It’s about doing the right thing, looking after your team, and delivering what you say you will to the best of your ability.

For over a decade Jeremy has brought this commitment to his role at Active Tree Services and it’s a philosophy that’s seen him rise through the ranks to manage one of Active’s largest contracts.

It is also part of the reason Jeremy was recently named the recipient of this year’s Active’s Tree Top award.

Jeremy initially joined Active as a chipper operator back in 2009. With a child on the way, he was keen to find a job close to home in the Bathurst region and work in the great outdoors.

Since then, he’s fulfilled almost every role in the business, working as a cutter, EWP operator, leading hand and supervisor before becoming an operations manager on the Transgrid contract in 2022.

Jeremy explains he was in that role a couple of years before taking on the task of looking after all of Active’s work for NSW Powerlines.

“A position looking after the NSW Powerlines contract opened up a year and a bit ago and I was asked to step into the role,” he says.

The NSW Powerlines contract is among Active’s largest, encompassing tree cutting around high voltage powerlines for energy providers Transgrid, Essential Energy, Evoenergy, and Ausgrid in a geographical area that spans almost the entire southern half of New South Wales.

Based in Bathurst, Jeremy’s main role involves supporting and assisting a large team of field crews working anywhere from the Central West to Sydney and through Canberra to the Victorian border.

“That’s the way I see this job,” he says.

“We have a really good team of operations managers, and my role is to assist them in any way they need.”

Supporting that team is what he most enjoys about the job, but it’s a role that also comes with its challenges too.

“Probably the biggest challenge is knowing the buck stops with you,” he reflects.

“You have to be the problem solver and the one with solutions, and I don’t ever want to be the guy that fails.”

This can-do philosophy was among the reasons Jeremy received Active Tree Services’ most prestigious accolade this year.

Announced at the annual conference, the Tree Top Award recognises outstanding performers who espouse the core values of the business.

Candidates are put forward by their peers, and Jeremy was selected from a strong field of over 100 nominees.

Conceding it was a surprise and an honour, Jeremy says he had no idea he had even been nominated until he heard his name called out.

“I felt quite proud to be recognised,” Jeremy says.

“It was just nice to know the amount of work that goes into this job doesn’t go unnoticed.”

After more than a decade with Active, Jeremy notes many of the reasons he was first drawn to the company still remain.

“I do love the industry and the environment we get to work in, and I like the way Active is family-owned and they’re just there for you – not just in the workplace,” he says.

“And I think Active honours its goal to be the good guys. There’s a lot of honesty, we help each other out and we deliver what we say we’ll deliver.”

As the trucks, trailers, and EWPs come and go beyond his office window, Manaf Mir is in his element.

He’s reviewing data, making recommendations and using his expertise as a systems and data analyst to help shape the current and future operations of Aerial Access – Active Tree Services’ sister company and Australia’s foremost distributor of elevated work platforms.

Manaf could never have imagined this would be his future when he stepped off a plane from Pakistan more than six years ago.

Manaf explains he came to Australia to undertake a masters degree, having previously studied business and marketing.

“I worked in digital marketing and quickly realised it wasn’t for me,” Manaf says.

“So, I decided to go back to uni, and came here to study for a Masters in Business Analytics.”

That qualification landed Manaf a role as a systems analyst at a construction product manufacturer before he was headhunted for Aerial Access in July last year.

“I was contacted by a recruiter and that was the first time I heard about Active,” Manaf says.

“And I soon learned they’re about far more than cutting trees.”

Manaf works in Aerial Access’ fleet department in a role that sees him reviewing an array of data and systems relating to everything from financial reporting to fleet management.

“I analyse the company’s data to help management make informed and better decisions,” Manaf explains. 

“I also look at systems and development, filling a gap between stakeholders and developers when it comes to the Fleet Management System.”

He notes the job allows him to identify patterns including inefficiencies and potential problems.

“For example, we were having an issue with some machines, and it happened again and again.

“We checked the data, which allowed us to identify it only occurred in one brand, so we raised the issue with the manufacturer and now that problem has been mitigated.”

Manaf is based at Active’s Bayswater depot, which also serves as a major workshop for the assembly, servicing and maintenance of equipment that Aerial supplies to clients in the electrical, power line maintenance, local government, and vegetation management industries.

“My office is above the workshop, and I love seeing all the trucks coming and going,” he says.

“Every day there’s new machinery that we’re servicing or providing to other contractors and companies.”

Manaf notes his role allows him to create an impact and make a difference within the business, which he finds incredibly rewarding.

He also appreciates the people-first ethos of the Active Tree Services and Aerial Access brands.   

“I love the culture, the people and the diversity here,” Manaf says.

“Everyone is supportive, approachable and collaborative, and they take really good care of their employees.”

That’s not to say moving to the other side of the world and starting a whole new chapter of life has always been easy.

Manaf explains arriving in Australia was a bit of a culture shock and completing his second year of uni during Victoria’s notoriously tough Covid lockdowns was particularly hard.

“That was pretty isolating,” he recalls.

But he’s since settled in, embracing hobbies that include electronic dance music, cinema, cooking, and snooker.

“I was 21 when I moved here in 2019, and I was all alone,” he says.

“Since then, I’ve finished my degree and found a great job and I’m really proud of those achievements.”

As for the future, Manaf is keen to continue with Aerial Access and hopes to reside in Australia permanently.

“My plan is to grow within the company, and the goal is to become a data engineer,” he says.

“I love it here in Australia, the people are friendly, they don’t judge and there’s a sense of freedom.”

Whether its relocating rare pygmy possums, rehoming blue tongue lizards, or simply collecting data about trees, there are days when Natalie Miller simply can’t believe her luck.

A qualified environmental scientist, she’s fallen into a dream job that combines a love of animals with a passion for the environment, and it just happens to be in the tree industry.

“I didn’t plan to move into the world of trees,” Natalie says.

“But I found my way to Active and fell in love with it. It turns out ecology and arboriculture go hand in hand.”

Natalie joined Active Green Services (AGS) in 2023, working as an environmental consultant in a national team that specialises in sustainability, urban greening, bushfire mitigation, tree management, and habitat.

At the time she was fresh out of university, seeking to utilise her skills in wildlife and conservation biology.

“Ecology is a really competitive field and it’s hard to get hired without experience, straight out of uni,” Natalie says.

“But I found the job for a graduate consultant at Active on Seek, and it’s just so cool that arboriculture and ecology are so intertwined.”

Based in Victoria, Natalie’s job involves everything from checking trees for wildlife and relocating animals to identifying trees and writing reports for AGS clients that include electricity providers, road and rail networks, government departments, infrastructure developers, and more.

“Every day is different,” Natalie says.

“I love the variety and the fact no two days are the same.” 

And there have been some major highlights along the way, including six months working as a fauna spotter on the EnergyConnect transmission project in Mildura.

Natalie’s job involved working ahead of the cutting crews, checking trees for wildlife.   

“It’s an area where there are a lot of pygmy possums. They’re the smallest possum in the world and they’re also endangered,” she says.

“I was lucky enough to find and relocate five of them which was incredibly rewarding.”

There’s also been some reptilian relocations, including bearded dragons, blue tongue lizards and lots of excitable geckos in all sorts of unexpected places.

“You’d be surprised, there’s a lot of wildlife in the city,” Natalie says.

“And when we relocate them, we try to keep them within the area they know.”

As for snakes, despite working in bushland, Natalie encountered her first only recently in a highly unlikely place.

“It was actually swimming in the Yarra, which was pretty cool to see,” she says.

In addition to putting her environmental science skills to good use, Natalie is embracing the arboriculture side of her role and is currently studying for her Diploma in Arboriculture.

“At the moment I’m in the field collecting tree data as part of the North East Link project, which involves measuring and identifying each tree,” she says.

“Figuring out the tree species can be a bit tricky, but I’m learning, and I love that.

“There’s always room to learn and grow.”

Natalie’s enthusiasm and professionalism was recently acknowledged courtesy of a Rising Star Award at the Arboriculture Australia Conference, held in Canberra in March.

The award recognises individuals who are early in their careers and demonstrate exceptional promise within the arboriculture industry, and Natalie was nominated by her peers.

Believing she was just attending the conference for experience, she notes the accolade came as an unexpected bonus.

“It was my first conference and such a great way to be exposed to the industry while meeting new people,” she says.

“I had no idea about the award, and I was really happy to receive it.”   

Natalie reflects the award is just one of many memorable moments she has enjoyed as part of a job that takes her anywhere from parks to the bush to construction sites.

“Going forward, I want to keep on learning and exposing myself to new things and opportunities,” she says.

“I’ve always loved animals and have always wanted to work for the environment.

“I’m really grateful to be doing that as part of Active Green Services and the arboriculture industry.”

Senior Diesel Mechanic Dale Jones was one of those kids with a hankering to know how things worked.

From basic remote control cars to trail bikes, he’d pull anything apart, just so he could
understand how it worked and then enjoy the satisfaction of putting it back together again.

“I was that kid and I’m sure my Dad probably hated it,” Dale reflects.

“I admit, these items didn’t always return to their original state. However, learning is something I’ve always enjoyed.”

That fascination with machinery later turned into a valuable skill that now sees Dale sought after as a diesel mechanic with a specialist interest in heavy machinery.

Having started out as an 18-year-old apprentice, he’s worked on everything from excavators to tilt trucks, elevated work platforms, and scissor lifts.

It’s a career that has taken him from family run workshops servicing farm machinery to fleet maintenance specialists looking after clients including Melbourne City Council and major
telecommunications providers. 

Along the way, he’s put his problem-solving and mechanical skills to great use, diagnosing
complex machinery problems, organising parts, conducting inspections, and getting creative with occasional design and fabrication work.

It’s for this expertise that Dale was headhunted to join Active Tree Service’s Fleet department back in 2023.

Dale explains, he was working at High Access Group as the lead and only diesel mechanic in their workshop when Active’s Chris Sanderson happened to reach out.

Impressed with Dale’s understanding of Active’s style of equipment, Chris decided to pop by for
a visit.

“Sando came to the workshop to see my work and surprisingly I was given a job offer,” Dale recalls.

Dale didn’t think much of it at the time however over the months that followed, Chris regularly touched base.

“Seven months later, he rang and insisted I come and have a look at the Bayswater depot, and I happened to be heading that way to pick up my daughter, so I thought it would be unfair not to,”
Dale says.

The depot turned out to be six minutes from Dale’s house rather than a daily hour and 20-minute commute.

Active also offered the opportunity for further career advancement. 

It was these two factors that sealed the deal, with Dale stepping into the role of senior diesel mechanic at Active almost two years ago.

The job involves conducting maintenance on Active’s fleet of machinery and servicing equipment for their sister company Aerial Access, while also mentoring younger team members.

On any given day Dale might be working on trucks, EWPs, jarraffs, chippers, excavators, and an array of other equipment.

“Having an extensive background in towers, I am often working on the Versalift EWPs, tower repairs and/or maintenance,” Dale says.

“But I also still work on all the other machinery.”

With a major background in specialist equipment, Dale’s expertise lies in diagnostic problem solving and it’s a skill he’s honed during a career that’s spanned more than 20 years as a diesel mechanic.

“When it comes to troubleshooting, you develop this good nose for it,” he says.

“You just get a vibe and a gut feeling that something specific needs to be checked.”

He has also applied that problem solving in highly creative ways, particularly during his time at High Access Group.

“The variety of machinery we worked on was off the scale, and some of it was very specialised,” Dale explains.

“But there were also some weird and wonderful things as well, such as designing and fabricating light fittings for Melbourne City Council, including manufacturing Christmas decorations.”

Since joining Active, Dale has also had some of his additional skills formally recognised.

“I have a really big interest in auto-electrical work. I also have a good background in that and experience,” Dale says.

“Active’s Leading hand nominated me to improve my skillset and become a qualified
auto-electrician via Recognition of Prior Learning.

“As part of that I was able to add auto-electrical to my CV.”

Outside of work Dale is a devoted partner and dad to three girls, who loves nothing more than spending time with his family in the great outdoors.

“I love 4WDs, trail bikes, camping and fishing,” he says.

“With a busy family and work, there often isn’t the time, but last year we bought a caravan and went to Uluru and back, and that was sensational.”

As for the future, Dale says his is with Active.

He’d be keen to transition into a supervisor role or, better yet, would love to put his
problem-solving skills to the ultimate test.

“I would absolutely love to work in product development,” he says.

“I have a big background working with so many different types of equipment and there’s nothing better than the challenge of finding a way to make something work.”

Active Tree Top award winner Katrina Carmody never envisaged a career in the tree industry. Instead, it was a job she fell into by necessity and it’s a career where she has quickly excelled.

In her four years with Active, Kat has gone from chipper to operations manager on the Vic Powerlines contract. Along the way she’s gained the respect of her peers as someone who espouses the values of Active Tree Services’ dedicated team.

Kat explains she was a health and outdoor education teacher working at Gilwell Park Scout and Education Centre when the Coronavirus pandemic forced her into redundancy in 2020.

“I’d been looking for a job for a while and was at the stage where I was ready to take anything,” she says.

“And then a job just happened to come up with Active.”

Conceding she was ‘very green’ and had ‘zero experience’, Kat jumped at the chance to work in an essential industry at a time when Victoria was experiencing some of the toughest lockdown conditions in the world.

She started on the chipper before being offered the opportunity to become a Jarraff operator a year later, and says she loved “working on the big machines”.

When a fractured ankle saw her sidelined from physical duties, she moved into a customer-facing role for the annual fire cut where she liaised with clients and organised crews.

It was a position she thrived in, tapping into her people skills and previous experience working in customer service.

“It’s funny because when I was younger, I worked in retail at a discount store then at Bunnings where I’d been in the garden section and also in tools,” she says.

“I sold chainsaws before I ever used one and there’s a chance I was selling some of the trees that Active now prunes.”

These days, Kat’s role as an operations manager sees her looking after the Victorian scoping team as part of the Ausnet component of the Vic Powerlines contract.

It’s a job that involves travelling and meeting with members of the crew to ensure everything’s working perfectly, and it takes her across a variety of terrain.

Earlier this year, Kat was recognised with Active Tree Services’ most prestigious accolade, receiving the Tree Top Award for her commitment to the core values of the business.

Candidates for the award are put forward by their peers, and Kat was selected from a strong field of over 100 nominees.

It was an accolade she was both honoured and humbled to receive.

“It was a lovely shock to receive the nomination by my colleagues,” she says.

“I feel like we’re always offered the chance to explore new things and it’s something I’ve jumped on and run with.”

As part of that commitment to exploring new things, Kat is currently doing her Diploma in Arboriculture, while also juggling life as a working mum with two young children.

Outside of work, she continues to play soccer, having represented Victoria when she was younger and also has a passion for photography.

“I’d always done family and kids photography as a bit of a hobby, particularly after my partner and I had kids,” she says.

“When I lost my job it also became a side hustle, but now I’m on the road a lot more it’s more of a hobby.”

As for what’s next, Kat says her future is with Active and might one day unite her love for the tree industry with her love of teaching.

“I really value learning and that love of teaching runs deep,” she says.

“Growing up I pictured myself as a teacher and it was always what I wanted to be, but I’ve very much learned through random experiences that you’ve got to have an open mind and go with the flow.

“I believe things happen for a reason and so far, that’s all worked out for the best because I genuinely love Active and am so thankful every day for all the opportunities I’ve been presented with.”

Active might be known as Australia’s largest tree company, but a key part its success has always been its forward-thinking approach to technology.

Encompassing two teams, that technology includes the groundbreaking Active Mobile software,  and also a division dedicated to IT service and support.

Heading up the latter arena is Matt Grech, who is based in Waterloo, NSW, but is part of a support team of eight which is spread across the country.

Matt explains the team is responsible for areas such as ensuring Active’s equipment and devices are operational, that crew members have internet connection, and that all data is safe and secure.

“Our role is to look at ways we can better support the teams across the business, making our crew’s work lives easier,” Matt explains.

“Whether that’s better technology in the vehicles to improve internet access or better processes that automate things.”

Matt joined Active in 2020 after a career that spanned everything from tech startups to leading the IT team at the Credit and Investment Ombudsman.

In the process he has worked with some of Australia’s best known tech companies – as both a consultant and employee.

It was a career Matt says he ‘fell into’ unexpectedly.

“I’d actually failed my HSC and my first job was full time at a toner and ink cartridge facility in Bankstown, Sydney when I was asked to fix a computer problem,” he recalls.

“Next thing you know I’m the go-to IT person and it started from there.”  

In the two decades since, Matt has attained two master’s degrees and over a dozen certifications, all whilst working in full time employment.

But after the high-stakes world of tech companies, it was the allure of something different which attracted him to Active.

“What I realised fairly quickly was that IT is critical to the operation of this business,” he says.

The IT support team’s role involves streamlining the IT systems and processes that Active’s different business divisions and crews rely on to get the job done.

And it’s a task that comes with its own unique challenges, due in no small part to the fact Active’s workforce is distributed across the country, often working in remote locations with no internet access. 

“Sometimes our field crews have to drive an hour to get enough reception to get IT support,” Matt says.

“Our ultimate goal is to make their lives easier and to have all the crews online all the time.” 

One of the key ways the IT team is addressing this is through the rollout of Starlink satellite internet, including affixing 15 dishes to Active vehicles, with more planned in the future. 

It has been a gamechanger for team members working in remote areas, but Matt notes even that currently has its limitations.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity remains a priority across all levels of the business, especially as many of Active’s customers are large electricity networks. 

“They’re considered critical infrastructure so the cybersecurity requirements we have for tendering for those contracts are becoming more and more stringent,” Matt says.

“Cybersecurity’s always challenging because adding the layers of security can potentially make the technology harder to use, so we’re trying to standardise as much as we can, but different contracts also have different and potentially competing requirements.”

Overcoming these hurdles is a challenge Matt thrives on as part of a team he notes is full of great talent.

“The people you get to interact with at Active is an absolute highlight of this job,” he says. 

“I love being part of a very experienced and engaged team who want to do good work and genuinely love helping people. That really drives me.”

He’s also driven by an ambition to ensure Active stays ahead of the game when it comes to future advancements, including smart technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), which looks set to revolutionise areas like inventory management.

While the advancements are swift and the challenges of ever-evolving technology are real, Matt says he’s thrilled to be part of a forward-thinking company where his job is to make a real difference at all levels of the business.

“We have incredible support from the leadership team,” he says.

“I’d like to think people can see that our strategies are working and things are getting better.

“That in itself is incredibly rewarding.”

When Matthew Sparrow first enquired about the opportunity to work at Active Tree Services, he never envisaged it would lead to a job that would take him round the world, trialling the latest machinery available to the tree industry.

But that’s exactly what’s eventuated in his six years with the company. From that initial enquiry, Matthew has gone from a chipper operator on the SA Powerlines contract to a leading hand with SA Commercial.

In the process, he’s travelled to England where he trialled then helped deliver Active’s latest exciting piece of kit and now, he trains operators around the country on exactly how to use it.

That ‘kit’ is the Magni Rotating Telescopic Handler – a highly valuable piece of machinery touted as a game changer for both efficiency and safety.

With a lifting capacity of 6-tonne, it has a vertical reach of 30 metres and boasts 3-in-1 attachments that open up a whole range of opportunities for Active.

Mathew explains Active Chief Operating Officer, Jim Roberts first flagged the Magni as an item worth investigating while at a trade show overseas.

“He thought it was something that was definitely worth looking into, so in May last year Sean Stanley from Qld Commercial and I were asked to travel to the UK to see it in action,” Matthew says.

For Matthew it would be his first time overseas, and an opportunity too good to pass up.

While there, he and Sean had the chance to witness Magnis in action on a range of projects across the country.

“It was a great experience with lots of information that helped us in terms of how it could be used, and what we might need to buy in the way of attachments,” Matthew says.

“We had the opportunity to sit in it, see its capability, and gain an understanding before purchasing.”

Ultimately that experience resulted in Active importing two initial Magnis, with the first arriving in South Australia mid last year.

“We did our first job with it on June 19, removing 19 small gums,” Matthew says.

“It was a job that was supposed to take a week, but only took a couple of days.”

Since then, a second Magni has been put to use in NSW, and Matthew’s job now involves training other team members on how to operate the machinery.

“Once you get a handle on the computer side of things, it’s a pretty easy machine to operate and I just love watching the guys get to see what it does,” he says.

“Their reaction is always great.”

Matthew notes not only does the crew at Active love the Magni, but clients also appreciate its capability too.

“Yesterday for example, it was used to lift a tree off powerlines,” he says.

“That’s normally a job that might take a day, but with the Magni it took just an hour. 

“It’s one of those machines that can save clients a lot of money, as it might mean they only need to close down a street for a couple of hours rather than a whole day or longer.”

As a result, Matthew says some clients now request it for specific works and that’s likely to increase as tha Magni gains exposure on various contracts.

But for now, Matthew’s thrilled to be part of its rollout and introduction, and he remains grateful for the opportunities he’s been afforded since joining Active.

His connection with the company also runs far deeper than just a job, with his partner and sister-in-law part of Active’s administration team.

“It was my sister-in-law Bec Button who initially got me the job here,” Matthew says.

“She was working here and had nothing but good things to say, so I asked if there was anything available and she lined up an interview.

“And since then, my partner Jamie Sara has joined the team as well.”

While Matthew concedes that can occasionally make separating work and home life a little bit challenging, he says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I live to work, so I’m a bit shocking,” he reflects.

“But I genuinely enjoy my job and love working at Active.”

“I’ve had the chance to work with great people, to travel interstate and to travel overseas.”

“Active’s been nothing but good to me.”