Who. We. Are.

Who We Are Nick Duffy & The Team

Shepard Hill Tree was founded by arborist Nick Duffy. Nick began his horticultural career with degrees in horticulture and arboriculture from Penn State University. With over two decades of practical experience, Nick has practiced arboriculture in residential, commercial, and municipal settings.

• ISA Board Certified Master Arborist (2012) — fewer than 500 worldwide at the time of certification, with a 90% exam failure rate
• Youngest arborist ever to achieve this distinction
• Only practicing ISA Board Certified Master Arborist in the Midcoast region
• Expert in insect & disease management and soil/root care with an emphasis on organic and natural methods
• Penn State University — degrees in Horticulture & Arboriculture

Local This Place Is Special to Us

We live in Union. We swim in quarries on Vinalhaven. We love eating in Rockland. We fish in Friendship. We hike in Camden. This part of Maine is not a market to us — it’s home.

We take great pride in being a truly local business and keeping our dollars in our local economy. When you call us, you won’t get a call center or corporate bureaucracy. The team who answers the phone is the same team who diagnoses and treats your tree — and the same team who will check on your tree a year later to see how it’s doing.

We think small is beautiful. An opportunity to provide something special… something personal… something better.

Caring No Greenwashing. We Practice What We Preach.

Because we live here and know how important our local ecosystem is to our way of life, we are deeply committed to environmental sustainability. Spraying trees is antiquated and almost always unnecessary. Unfortunately, many tree care companies in Maine still use toxic pesticides laden with PFAS — “forever chemicals” — especially for browntail moth, ticks, beech leaf disease, and hemlock woolly adelgid.

The good news is that there are more modern, viable alternatives that don’t damage our streams, wildlife, or health.