Asplundh to fully endow Hyland R. Johns Grant Program

Asplundh announced today that it will permanently endow the Hyland R. Johns Research Fund, ensuring that this important source of funding will continue to provide support for arboriculture research and education in perpetuity.

The Hyland R. Johns Grant Program was established in 1995 to honor his lifetime of contributions to the field of arboriculture. It supports long-term research and technology transfer projects that benefit the everyday work of arborists and is administered by Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund.

Asplundh’s Chief Operations Officer David Fleischner delivered the endowment announcement at the Trees & Utilities Conference, hosted by the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) and the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) on September 10. Over the next three years, Asplundh will donate more than $500,000 to the fund in time for it to be fully endowed before the company’s centennial in 2028. During this time, the fund will continue to award grants.

“Asplundh wouldn’t be the company it is today without our mutual support and partnership with the ISA,” said Fleischner. “Hyland Johns was instrumental in establishing that relationship and making sure it thrived in ways that have proven to be a benefit to the entire industry. Ensuring that this grant-making fund will always have the capital to support arboricultural research is a fitting way to honor Hyland’s legacy and mark Asplundh’s upcoming centennial.”

“Asplundh has been a dedicated, Crown Level partner of TREE Fund’s for many years and has always been very supportive of our programs,” said Dr. Paul Putman, TREE Fund President & CEO. “We’re thrilled to be a part of their centennial celebration. This new commitment to fully endow the Hyland R. Johns Grant Program will provide needed grant dollars for meaningful research benefiting the everyday work of arborists.”

A longtime executive at Asplundh from 1950 until his retirement in 1990, Hyland Johns was a champion of arboriculture research and education. He was responsible for developing the company’s personnel and training department and standardizing its methods of forestry education. Over the course of his career, he was also an important figure in advancing research as a member, volunteer and president of the ISA. In 1952, he organized a significant study of herbicides that was instrumental in establishing the PA Game Lands 33 research project, which continues to support the industry with research on the impacts of various vegetation management methods in the field. He was also a founder of the ISA Research Trust, which became TREE Fund in 2002.

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TREE Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry. TREE Fund promotes scientific inquiry designed to benefit commercial, residential, utility and consulting arborists, urban foresters, and other professionals in related fields in their shared work to create, support and sustain vibrant urban canopies. TREE Fund supports 10 grant and six scholarship programs. More information can be found at www.treefund.org.

Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC is a family-owned and managed company headquartered just outside of Philadelphia in Willow Grove, PA. Its One Asplundh approach provides a single point of contact to an extensive range of vegetation management, infrastructure and digital innovation services for utilities, municipalities, power producers and other commercial and industrial customers. Asplundh employs approximately 36,000 throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Learn more at www.asplundh.com.