Hayes Tree Care - New Gold Sponsor of Mandurah Wildlife

Growing Fast and Deeply Rooted in Community and Conservation

Hayes Tree Care is the new Gold Sponsor of Mandurah Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and when I pulled into their premises, my first thought was simple: ‘this is a substantial operation’. The yard was lined with cherry pickers, mulchers, and trucks - serious equipment that suggested decades of growth.

So you can imagine my surprise when owners Nick and Leona Hayes told me the business was founded only four years ago, in 2021. How does a company grow this quickly in such a short time? As always, there's a story. And that story is what I visited their Mandurah facility to discover.

A Journey from the UK to the Great Australian Outdoors

Nick and Leona met ten years ago in Perth. Both had arrived separately from the UK and soon decided to take a backpacking trip around Australia - a journey during which they fell in love with the country and its extraordinary natural environment.

Leona spent twenty years as a hairdresser, and it was through her trade that the couple were able to secure residency. They lived in Melbourne and other parts of Australia before eventually finding their long-term home in Mandurah.

Why Tree Care?

This part of the story starts with Nick, who has spent 26 years in the tree care industry, mostly in the UK. He originally enrolled in a sports science course, more because he couldn’t think of anything else to do, but at 16 he was offered a temporary job in the industry.

It clicked immediately. He loved being outdoors, loved climbing, and quickly found purpose in understanding and caring for trees. When a fulltime vacancy became available, Nick took it up and has never looked back.

Upon arriving in Australia, Nick continued working in the industry, gaining not just technical experience but over the years a crucial knowledge of the commercial and contractual aspects of the trade. Something he said is a critical but sometime overlooked component of running a good business.

And what about Leona’s leap from hairdressing to tree care? She laughed and said Nick often tells her: “Cutting trees is just like cutting hair.”

A Business Built on Preservation, Not Removal

Both Nick and Leona are passionate about the value of trees. Nick points out that Perth has the lowest tree canopy cover of any Australian capital city - just 16%, a statistic he finds deeply concerning.

Their business philosophy is simple: preserve trees whenever possible.

Nick says too many operators default to cutting trees down because it’s the quickest way to earn a fee. On the other side, homeowners often worry unnecessarily about falling branches and assume removal is the only safe option.

In reality, most trees can be preserved through proper pruning and ongoing maintenance -providing long-term business for arborists and long-term benefits for communities, wildlife, and environment.

Even when a tree has died, it does not necessarily need to come down. It can be made safe and still provide habitat for nesting fauna and structure about which other vegetation can climb.

Doing the Right Thing by People, Wildlife and Environment

Nick emphasises the importance of hygiene management, noting that dieback and other diseases can spread easily through contaminated equipment. Every Hayes Tree Care vehicle carries a full biosecurity kit.

Recycling is another priority. Mulch and timber offcuts never go to waste—local daycare centres and hobby woodcarvers often snap them up for projects and play spaces.

Wildlife care is equally integral to their ethos. Leona explained that Hayes Tree Care refuses to disturb trees that contain nesting wildlife. In addition, the business is happy to instal possum nesting boxes built by the local Mandurah Men’s Shed.

Why Support Mandurah Wildlife?

For Nick, sponsoring Mandurah Wildlife isn’t about chasing business opportunities or marketing returns.

“It just makes sense for us to align with organisations that share our values,” he said.

Leona adds that with four children under nine, caring for the natural world and ensuring their business model sets a strong ethical example is something that is deeply personal.