“Every day, I have the privilege of working alongside my dad and siblings while working hard to bring history, elegance, and maturity to these landscape projects.“

Inspiring Conversations with Brittany Underhill of Urban Forestry Works

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Underhill.

Hi Brittany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello, my name is Brittany Underhill. I was born and raised in DeLand, Florida (I’m 7th generation from Volusia County!) I went to the University of North Florida where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. After I graduated, I took some time to travel and “figure it out”. While doing so, it led me to where I am today…. For the past 80 years, my family has been in the agricultural business. Starting in the 1930’s with growing and supplying cut foliage to wholesale florist across the world. Generations later, the business grew and expanded into much more. Growing up, I never saw myself working for the “family business” but 8 years ago, things changed when my dad called and asked me to come work for him and a new company he had started a few years prior. While still holding true to farming and quality service, a new family business was created, Urban Forestry Works.

Urban Forestry Works specializes in growing, supplying, installing and transplanting large specimen trees across the South East United States. We work on large commercial projects, residential landscapes, municipalities and other high profile landscape projects. Some of these projects/clients consists of The PGA Tour, Quail Hollow Golf Course, University of Alabama, Brown and Brown Insurance HQ, TPC Sawgrass and many more. We work closely with Landscape Architects, Developers, General Contractors, Superintendents, and homeowners. All of our work and projects are done using my Dad’s patented technology, the LTTS (Large Tree Transplanting System) also better known as “The Box”. The Box was designed and built to simplify the art of moving large trees as well as open the door to more possibilities for our clients and their design projects.

Every day, I have the privilege of working alongside my dad and siblings while working hard to bring history, elegance, and maturity to these landscape projects. Over the past 8 years, being able to grow a business with the people I love the most, has been a really cool experience. I am very proud of what we have accomplished and the success that we’ve had. I’m even more excited about what the future holds.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There will always be obstacles and challenges with anything you do in life and in work. Urban Forestry Works is a small, specialized business that deals with living things…for a living. Whether we are planting cuttings to root and grow to sell for future inventory or planting a 25-year-old Live Oak at a customer’s home, constant care and maintenance is needed for these living things to continue to grow and flourish for many years to come. Perfecting the design of The Box was a challenge at first as well. With trial and error we were able to perfect its functionality and now have different size boxes for different size trees and it has become an industry changer and helped us stand out from our competitors. Most people who work in a family business or with their siblings find it challenging to be able to work well together and actually enjoy it. Luckily for me, that is not the case. As a family and running a family business, we have been able to separate our work and personal relationships with each other which has been key! I truly believe the close relationship I have with my siblings and my Dad has made working for UFW the most enjoyable part. I also think it has been the foundation of our success.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Rooted in Tradition – UFW is a family owned and operated business specializing in growing, installing and transplanting large specimen trees across the South East. You can learn our more about our business and patented technology at www.urbanforestryworks.com.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now” -Chinese proverb.

Contact Info:

• • • • Email: brittany@urbanforestryworks.com
      • Website: https://www.urbanforestryworks.com
      • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanforestryworks/
      • Other: https://vimeo.com/292741055

Image Credits
Ann Axon Photography
Bradley Rutledge
Garrett Cortese
John Jernigan

From Orlando Voyger, April 19, 2022,
Orlandovoyager.com
Copyright © 2022 Orlando Voyager
Reprinted with permission.