ABOUT US
Simeon Balsam
Hi i'm a climbing arborist, content creator and documentary producer with more than 18 years of practical industry experience. Through Visual Climber, i create films that showcase arboricultural work, interview leading figures and explore the people, techniques and ideas shaping modern tree care. I also host the Visual Climber Podcast, creating honest conversations with working arborists, manufacturers, innovators and industry pioneers. That gives me a unique perspective which combines first-hand knowledge of the job with an extensive international network and a natural ability to draw out people’s stories. For this project The Arborist innovators & influencers ive brought technical understanding, industry access and a clear sense of which stories deserve to be preserved.
Why this project matters to Simeon
Having worked in arboriculture for more than 18 years, I’ve realised that our industry has never really had a shared history lesson. So much of what we know is held in the memories of climbers, engineers, manufacturers and educators, and there is a real danger that those stories could be lost.
I wanted to make The Arborist to preserve some of that history and give something back to the community that has shaped my life. I want the next generation of arborists to understand where the industry came from and learn about the people whose ideas, experiments and determination helped make tree work safer, more efficient and better informed.
Phillip Sutton
Why this project matters to Phill
The Arborist has given me the opportunity to create something with value far beyond a single film or social-media campaign. Over the years spent making the series, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the skill, ingenuity and community within arboriculture.
I’ve always been most interested in the people behind the progress: what drove them to challenge accepted methods, the obstacles they faced and the legacy their work has created. This project matters to me because it preserves those experiences in an accessible visual form, giving future arborists the chance to understand where their industry came from and the people who helped shape it.
Hi i'm a documentary filmmaker, photographer and co-producer of The Arborist. Through my company, Visual Media Cambridge, I specialise in story-led filmmaking built around honest interviews, real working environments and carefully observed detail. My work combines cinematography, interviewing, aerial filming, story development and editing. What interests me most is finding the human story within a technical subject and making complex ideas understandable without losing their depth or authenticity. On The Arborist, my role has been to help shape years of interviews, archive material and specialist footage into one coherent seven-part story.