WTCW – Nicole “Carni” Benjamin and Melissa LeVangie-Ingersoll

Planning your cut starts with a healthy bar. A well maintained and conditioned bar results in better cuts. Learn some simple tricks of bar maintenance and then see the results with better cuts. Flip your approach and utilize your bar’s reactive forces and attack angles to get the results you want; stop getting stuck!
Firewood pile, stand clear!

Biography

LeVangie Ingersoll, Melissa – Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop (WTCW)

Melissa adores sharing her love of trees and the skills she’s acquired over the last 29 years in the industry of arboriculture.  Melissa is a passionate educator and her down-to-earth approach lends her subject matter expertise to be accessible by students, newbie to advanced people alike. 

As the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop® owner and co-founder, Melissa serves as a lead instructor, website designer, and head of marketing… and more.

Melissa lives in Massachusetts and is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, holding a B.S. in Forestry. With a diverse background Melissa brings a wealth of knowledge to her passion of arboriculture. With trail construction and maintenance, firefighting, chain saw training and more. Melissa’s hobbies include motorcycling, timber framing, cycling, and gardening,

Benjamin, Nicole – 2 Dog Crew, LLC
Nicole ‘carni’ is an ISA Certified Arborist, and primarily a production arborist. She was lucky enough to get started in the industry with Heartwood Tree Service, setting her up for steep learning curve and experiences in a broad range of production tree work. In 2018, she and her husband started their company 2 Dog Crew, LLC; working on various projects ranging from line clearance and utility, to residential removals & pruning, municipal projects, helicopter removals, even zipline and treehouse builds. Throughout her career she has been the groundie, (contract) climber, crew leader, general foreman, owner, chief safety officer, trainer, and the list continues. Despite those roles not always getting along, she’s found necessity and respect are deserved for all of them. She currently lives “on the road” with her husband, daughter and doggo. They often travel around the continental USA to attend tree climbing competitions, conferences, visit and work with friends, assist with the Burke Outdoor Canopy Class, the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop, Academy Trained and other arbor related trainings and workshops. Her favorite tree changes regularly, but she is always grateful for the Charlotte, NC’s massive Willow Oaks – Quercus phellos, and Tulip Poplars – Liriodendron tulipifera.