04/29/2026
Who and what is Red Goose?! A fair question, and a very common one. Red Goose is an old nickname, a playful take on my own name, Read Guthrie. I’m an ISA certified arborist and tree risk assessor with 12 years of experience, nine of which I have spent here in the Comox Valley.
I’m also a father, runner, mountaineer, musician, and artist. I came to trees from a lifelong love of the outdoors and specifically climbing. I was working summers in the Yukon and started to become curious about what the trees and plants around me were called, and this curiosity continued during winters off surfing the west coast of the island. When I discovered arboriculture everything clicked into place - an art, a science, a craft, and really, a way of life.
After many years as a climber, crew lead, and manager/salesperson under some of the best mentors I could have ever imagined, I started to see a service gap between landscapers/gardeners and tree services. What if someone could provide the expertise and capacity of a professional arborist while staying affordable for smaller jobs? Ornamental trees, hedges, shrubs, fruit trees all deserve the thoughtful treatment of a well trained professional but people were being forced by circumstance to hire out less qualified companies to do the actual work.
And so Red Goose Pruning Co. was born…🌳🪿❤️
