Basil Camu, author of "From Wasteland to Wonder"
Basil is co-founder of Leaf & Limb, a tree care company in Raleigh, NC, Project Pando, a non-profit that aims to connect people to trees, and author of "From Wasteland to Wonder: Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape".
About Basil
When you ask Basil what he thinks about himself, he'll tell you he is incredibly lucky. He has family he loves dearly, friends and colleagues who inspire him, and every day he gets to care for trees, soil, and flowers. He pursues his purpose and passions as the co-founder of Leaf & Limb, a tree care company in Raleigh, NC, and Project Pando, a non-profit that aims to connect people to trees. He is a Treecologist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Duke graduate, Wizard of Things, and author of of the book From Wasteland to Wonder - Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape.
His work has been featured in the New York Times, Seattle Times, Forbes, Gardenista, The Joe Gardener Show, and a number of other publications and podcasts. When he's not having fun at work, he likes to pull invasive plants from his pocket forests, contemplate on his front porch, and go hiking with his family.
Recent Videos
Thinking with Plants and Fungi Associate Rebecca McMackin speaks with Master Arborist, Basil Camu
Homegrown National Park Earth Day Celebration 2025
Garden Conversations - "Ecology of Trees with Basil Camu"
NC Museum of Science & Wake Audubon - Heal the Earth in the Suburban Landscape
Rooted in New Jersey: Virtual Fall Conference 2024 - Basil Camu
Gardening in the South - Basil Camu - "Four Ways To Make Your Trees Happy + Two Errors to Avoid"
The Man Behind A New Kind of Sustainable Tree Farm
From Wasteland to Wonder - Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape - NCWF
Project Pando in 8 Minutes - A Plan to Help Heal the Planet - TLC Wild Ideas
How Trees Can Save the World—And What You Can Do to Help
Meadows, Thickets, and Pocket Forests: Going Beyond the Traditional Landscaping Model
How to Hand Prune Your Shrubs // It's Faster, Cheaper, and Healthier than using a Hedge Trimmer!
How to Spot a Dead or Dying Tree!
Mulch Volcanoes: Deceptively Deadly
Drop that Rake! Save time and money by leaving your leaves!
Not sure how to care for your trees? 4 Simple Steps to Happy, Healthy Trees
Trees are AMAZING! They Seed, Feed, and Fuel Life on Earth!
Additional Press
The New York Times
Duke Magazine
A Climate-Conscious Arborist Who Refuses to Cut Down Trees
Raleigh tree service owner vows to stop cutting down trees to save the planet
Rewilding Magazine
A Mom-And-Pop Tree Service Retools, Paying A Living Wage While Breathing New Life Into Soil
Raleigh Service Works To Rebuild Tree Canopy
Tree Care with Leaf & Limb
Living Small by Laura Fenton
The Seattle Times
Washington Gardener Magazine
Walter Magazine
Recent Podcasts
The arborist refusing to cut down trees
Easy Ways to Help Heal Earth in Suburban and Urban Landscapes
Basil Camu on Supporting Trees – A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach
Native Plants, Healthy Planet
Local Sustainability with Basil Camu
Basil Camu is a Master Arborist and Co-Owner of Leaf & Limb in Raleigh, North Carolina
Natural Tree Care - GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening
Basil Camu - From Wasteland To Wonder - Nature Revisited
Letting Go of the Trapeze with Leaf & Limb's Basil Camu - Grow For Good
From Wasteland To Wonder With Basil Camu - BIRD HUGGER
GoGreen Locally Podcast with Jenny Nichols
Green Industry Perspectives
Recent Presentations
- International Association for Landscape Ecology North America Annual Conference
- The Cullowhee Native Plant Conference - Western Carolina University
- Ocean County College
- Cary Environmental Symposium (multiple years)
- NC State Extension Master Gardener College Keynote Speaker
- Countless presentations for local garden clubs, libraries, and non-profits
- Virginia Horticulture Foundation Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short Course (MAHSC)
- Native Plant Society of New Jersey Fall Conference
- Friends of the New Hanover County Arboretum Trees Talk conference
- Keep Durham Beautiful Native Plant Forum
- Great Swamp Watershed Association of NJ Lecture
- Homegrown National Park Earth Day Celebration 2025
- The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College 2025 Blauvelt Speaker Series
- Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association of McDowell County, NC Annual Symposium Keynote Speaker
- Virginia Beach Council of Garden Clubs Lecture
- North Carolina Native Plant Society Lecture
- North Carolina Wildlife Federation Tri-County Conservationists Chapter Lecture
- Bowman's Hill Wildlife Preserve Winter Lecture Series
- JC Raulston Arboretum Lecture series
- JC Raulston Arboretum Lecture Gardening in the South Conference (multiple years)
- Triangle Land Conservancy Wild Ideas Conference
- NC Botanical Gardens Lunchbox Talk Series
