Alan Mayberry always regarded his job as a personal mission. Perhaps that is why he was so good at it.
His job wasn't about a paycheck. It was about saving living things.
Mayberry, 52, retired this week as Clearwater's "tree guy." For 20 years he was an urban forester for the city, with a love for his work that was almost spiritual. Those who know Mayberry were not surprised by these words he spoke in a Times profile Thursday: "I became a voice of organisms that have no voice. Trees are the largest organisms on earth, and they do so much for us. I felt they needed someone to speak up for them."
And speak up for them, he did, usually with his heart on his sleeve, even when his outspokenness annoyed his bosses or irritated the occasional property owner. He was, after all, answering to a higher authority: Mother Nature.
In 1987, Mayberry was upset because new shopping centers that were required by city code to landscape their parking lots later let the landscaping die. "I can't stand this. This is murder," said Mayberry with characteristic passion. He was excited when the city agreed to send out letters giving shopping center managers 30 days to replant their landscaping or be cited. Soon, living things were blooming again in the parking lots.
When a vacant property was slated for development, Mayberry walked the land, getting to know its natural occupants. If developers wanted to cut down trees unnecessarily, Mayberry fought for them, insisting that building plans could be modified here, a wall moved there, a parking lot paved with special material that allowed tree roots to breathe and obtain water. After construction began, he went back to check on the trees and make sure they were being protected from damage. Because of his efforts, mature trees remain in places where they would have been destroyed long ago.
Homeowners who filed for permits to cut down a tree sometimes got a visit from Mayberry, who showed them how it could be saved. Conversely, he also sometimes delivered the bad news that a tree was diseased and should not be saved.
Mayberry had an abiding concern about preserving Clearwater's tree canopy for future generations. He watched for signs of disease or premature death, and when he saw such disturbing trends, he set about educating homeowners and landscapers about what varieties of trees to avoid planting. His greatest fear was that some disease might sweep in when he wasn't looking and ravage the canopy.
Mayberry not only devoted himself to saving Clearwater's urban forest, but was informed on other environmental issues and also was a busy volunteer in the community.
Mayberry is leaving his city job, but will not be abandoning his mission. He will work as a consulting arborist for a local tree company.
It is work that will keep him in touch with his friends.
