The Davey Tree Expert Company SEED Campus

The Davey Tree Expert Company is currently working on expanding its corporate headquarters to include a specialized training and research facility on an almost 200-acre property. It comes on the heels of the third-wing addition to its existing corporate building, which was completed in 2023. Both are located in Kent, Ohio, where Davey was established in 1880.

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SEED Campus

About The SEED Campus

The Davey Tree SEED (Science, Employee Education, and Development) Campus, the almost 200-acre property that formerly housed the Oak Knolls golf course and Franklin Elementary School on State Route 43 in Kent, Ohio, will be the new home to specialized training and research facilities for The Davey Tree Expert Company. The science and learning campus is being designed to ensure that Davey continues to attract and retain the most qualified, well-trained, and engaged employees possible. Planned facilities include a 70,000-square-foot training center with two classrooms, laboratories, associated offices, event center, and a 10,700-square-foot indoor at-height climbing training center. Some of the other additions to the property included 10 spans of non-energized utility lines, greenhouses, a container nursery, an arboretum and multiple research plots and fields.

The SEED Scoop

Behind The Scenes At Our New Training & Research Campus

As we lead up to the SEED Campus's grand opening later in 2025, follow along with our progress on our blog.

Read The SEED Scoop Blog

For over 140 years, Davey has shown an uncompromising commitment to the training and education of our employees and to giving back to the industry through the support and sponsoring of scientific research that enhances our collective safety, techniques and results as arborists and environmentalists. Our investment in the SEED Campus elevates this commitment to a new level, cements our standing as the thought leader in the green industry and creates a facility that our employees, shareholders and community will all benefit from.

Pat Covey

Chairman, President and CEO

SEED Campus Training Center

The training center classrooms will be more than double the size of the current classrooms at the Davey Institute across the street at Davey Tree’s corporate headquarters. The classrooms are used to teach many of Davey’s educational and training programs, including the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) classes, which is Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques. The anticipated completion of the SEED Campus is scheduled for 2025. Research and training have started taking place on the property, including tree and shrub plantings on research plots and utility and safety training.

Training and research facilities on the SEED Campus may also include:

Outdoor climbing centers
Distance learning facilities
Canopy walk, turf/golf fairways and greens
Greenhouses, research/diagnostics laboratories
Replicated tree plantations
Mature tree, soil ecology and wetland research

See Plans & Progress Of The SEED Campus

Progress at Davey’s SEED Campus

Talking Trees With Davey Tree Podcast

Dan Joy, executive vice president and assistant to the president, gives a tour of Davey's Science, Employee Education and Development (SEED) Campus that will open in 2025. Dan takes us through the campus and shares information about each area, emphasizing how it will strengthen safety, training and research in the green industry.

Listen to hear about these SEED campus features and more:

Training facilities
Grove of white oaks and canopy walk
East research area
SEED golf course
Non-energized utility lines
Davey bog
Tree research plantation
Gold LEED certification

Listen Here

Building a Highly Skilled Workforce

With a workforce that’s nearly doubled over the last decade, we’re proud to unveil a space that will enhance the training opportunities for our 12,000+ employees. Laboratories and office spaces for our researchers and trainers are expanded and enhanced.

35 Acres Dedicated to Research

The SEED Campus is home to a breadth of natural resources that will provide long-term research opportunities: Cuyahoga River frontage, a bog, and mature trees, to name a few. In addition, we’ve established research plots to study tree health care, turf management, soil science, pollinator habitats, deer vegetation management, low-maintenance groundcovers under solar arrays, and more.

145 Years of History

Artifacts, equipment, and documents from Davey’s history will be on display in an archives/museum space within the SEED Campus’s main building. As part of the emphasis on history, the barn that was on the property previously has been reconstructed with its original, reclaimed timbers.

Join Our Team And Grow With Us!

Looking for a rewarding career with opportunities for growth? Whether your dream office is somewhere in the great outdoors or something more traditional, we have a career path for you. We believe in providing a healthy, growing work-environment where you choose your career path and have access to constant education and the tools you need to set yourself up for continued success.

With jobs available throughout North America, Davey has an opportunity for you in the location you desire.

VIEW CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Davey in the News: SEED Campus

SEED Campus:

National Association of Landscape Professionals: The Davey Tree Expert Company Invests in Their Employees with SEED Campus
Talking Trees with Davey Tree podcast: Progress at Davey's SEED Campus
T&D World: Davey Tree Builds Training & Research Center in Ohio
The Portager: Kent will annex 175 acres of Franklin Township, site of a major Davey Tree expansion
TCIA Magazine: Davey Expands its Corporate Headquarters
Crain's Cleveland Business: Davey Tree proceeds with major expansion in Kent

The Davey Tree Expert Company, headquartered in Kent, Ohio, provides research-driven tree services, grounds maintenance and environmental and utility infrastructure consulting for residential, utility, commercial and environmental partners in the U.S. and Canada. As one of the top ten largest employee-owned companies in the U.S., Davey's 12,000 employees have been dedicated to creating and delivering sustainable solutions since 1880. Apply today to join the Davey legacy, and learn about how we're growing with our new SEED Campus.