Paige Belfry: Co-owner, Lead Climber, Horticulturist
Paige grew up in the Pacific Northwest camping and exploring, and developed an affinity for nature so early on that her family found it difficult to remove the slug slime from her hands on family trips in the woods. In continuing her exploration of the natural world, she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in biology and spent summers interning with the Rhododendron Species Botanic Garden. Over the next decade, Paige grew veggies to sell at the market, and utilizing her skills as a horticulturist, opened her own landscape business. As her knowledge about trees grew, so did her curiosity, so she began to study trees intensively and began professionally climbing trees to diagnose their issues and perform work on them. She became an ISA Certified Arborist and is a certified climber through Arboriculture Canada. Paige’s biggest passion in her work is keeping trees healthy, and in doing so, helping others learn about the awesome complex system of nature that supports tree health. When she’s not in the trees, Paige can be found backpacking, paddling, dancing, and enjoying the good company of friends and family.
Nick Belfry: Co-owner, Soil Specialist, Ground Crew
Nick grew up in Southeast Alaska surrounded by trees. His parents both hold forestry degrees and he learned about plant and tree identification and life cycles from a very early age. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in zoology at Oregon State University. He has studied soil science as a graduate student at the same institution. Working as a log scaler for more than 5 years, Nick became intimately acquainted with disease in trees: how it grows, how it affects the tree, and how to recognize signs of interior rot on the outside of the tree. In 2018, he switched from the timber industry to begin a career in tree and plant care. He applies his scientific background and experience as a scaler to take a holistic view of plant and tree health. In addition to being a skilled horticulturalist, Nick is Ooh La La Arboriculture’s soil specialist and expert ground crew during climbing operations. In his spare time, Nick enjoys doing pretty much anything outdoors, especially backpacking, mountain biking, and amateur mycology.
Cedar Belfry: The Boss
The newest member of our team joined us in May! Since joining the team, Cedar has kept us constantly busy and has motivated us to keep the operation humming along. As ‘The Boss’ Cedar decides when we eat, drink, and sleep. She can be a harsh taskmaster, but we love her to pieces all the same. Cedar can be hard to spot on the job site because her discerning eye operates best from a distance, on the ground, inside a tiny tent, with her eyes closed. Cedar’s leisure activities include napping, spitting up, keeping her parents awake, and making cute faces.
Zamboni: Corporate Executive
Zamboni has been training for an executive position his whole life. He is a master of quiet contemplation and uses his commanding demeanor to lead the rest of the crew. His job is vitally important. Zamboni stays in our office to make sure that it stays warm and also to keep our stick retrieval specialist in line while the rest of the crew is hard at work on the job site. Like any executive, his position is full of stress and has very few benefits. We’re fortunate to have a strong leader like him. His free time is spent hunting for grasshoppers, singing, and meditating by the window.
Roux: Ground Crew, Stick Retrieval Specialist
Roux is our eldest team mate (in dog years, he’s 105!) but he still carries out his duties with passion and vigor. Roux has studied sticks from all over the northwest, including Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and of course Idaho. In the field of stick-ology, Roux is recognized as the preeminent expert in our region. Our team benefits on the job from his ability to carefully select and retrieve the cut limbs (sticks) so that a perfectly clean landscape is left behind. For Roux, stick retrieval is a labor of love, a passion project that he pursues even in his off hours. His other hobbies include napping, walking, and retrieving tennis balls.
OOH LA LA Arboriculture & Fine Pruning 