On August 4th, 2025, Joe Aiken and Korey Lofy had David Merriman, President of Denver’s ArborScape Tree Services, and Thaddeus Driscoll, Colorado State Forest Program Facilitator, speak on their Discovering Forestry podcast about urban wood utilization and furthering education on the importance of arboriculture.
Tune into episode 211 to learn more.
More on Merriman & Discoll
A few things to note about David Merriman is his 51 years of experience in the forestry industry, taking on different areas, such as logging, fire mitigation, land clearing, and working on sites as a journeyman arborist. Merriman used a quote to describe his abilities in the trade, claiming to be a “Jack of all trades, master of none- but still better than only a master of one”.
Thaddeus Driscoll, while newer to the industry than Merriman, has held a deep passion for urban landscaping before he really knew what that fully meant. The desire to connect the natural environment with our urban world led to his education in geography and environmental science, which then steered him toward interning with the Colorado State Forestry.
It was there that Driscoll naturally eased into the role of Urban Wood Program Facilitator.
What is Urban Wood Utilization?
Urban Wood is lumber that’s been salvaged or harvested from trees within cities, suburbs, and towns. The utilization of urban wood means taking that harvested wood and repurposing it.
Arboriculture is the science and care of plants like trees and shrubs. Woodworking requires knowledge of different types of wood and how to properly utilize the wood to get the desired result.
Both are incredibly broad fields that encompass a wide variety of knowledge and hands-on learning.
In woodworking, there is a huge focus on millable material & the products that can be built with it. But another aspect to consider is sustaining the urban forest wood.
This is where arboriculture comes into play. Maintaining a healthy urban canopy is vital to city infrastructure, as is the knowledge on how to utilize the wood we have available in our area.
Like many arborists, David Merriman practices sustainability by reducing, reusing and recycling. As a tree service company, ArborScape has access to wood to bring back and reuse. While Merriman has a passion for milling the wood into eclectic products, he notes that urban wood has many uses, such as mulch, firewood, compost, and other landscaping uses.
Driscoll noted that his current favorite wood to work with is honey locust and russian olives, while Merriman enjoys working with redbud and lilac. It has to be good wood, though. Decaying or diseased wood doesn’t exactly make for good products. You can even check out some of Merriman’s projects here.
This is where educating others comes into play. Driscoll’s role as the Urban Wood Program Facilitator has allowed him to work with cities throughout the state to educate people in the field, and those interested in joining, on the types of urban trees that can or cannot be milled.
Driscoll notes that reutilizing urban wood on a large scale requires a 2-part approach: creating a market that wants local material, and the desire to implement the practices.
Merriman added that while he has access to land to place the wood from job sites, as well as time and equipment to mill the wood, other industry leaders may not have equal access or opportunities to handle extensive reutilization. However, he adds that there are still options in which to learn and make an effort to DO something; that the shift from I can’t to I can actually makes a huge difference in perspective.
It’s that perspective, Merriman goes on, that’s encouraged him to continue his education. Instead of sticking to what was originally taught, he understands that the industry is evolving and there are different ways to adapt and help others do the same.
Together, the two hope to utilize urban woodworking as a tool to educate all on urban forestry. Not only does this help advance the knowledge in the existing industry, but it helps educate the next generation of foresters.
If you’re interested in learning more about wood utilization or woodworking, reach out to David Merriman at contact@arborscapeservices.com. Or Thaddeus at thaddeus.driscoll@colostate.edu
