Meet the Owners
Melville Forest & Tree can help you. Specializing in difficult tree removal and sensitive site logging.
Martin has been working with trees for over 55 years, since 1969, and is the founder of Melville Forestry Services. His decades of hands-on experience have shaped the company’s commitment to expert, sustainable tree care.
Christopher, who spent time working as a mechanical engineer, brings a technical and methodical approach to the business. After returning to the family company, he now leads Melville Forest & Tree with a focus on innovation and precision.
Based locally in central Pennsylvania, Christopher, Martin, and the Melville Forest & Tree team can help you care for your property—supporting your land and the future you see for it.
Martin Melville
Founder
Martin Melville grew up just outside Washington, D.C., where he was climbing trees long before he ever imagined making a career of it. At 13, he “went pro” when someone paid him to clean up a fallen branch—and he’s been working with trees ever since. That was 1969.
For much of that time, Martin has been self-employed, building his reputation almost entirely through word of mouth. In State College, PA, it’s not uncommon for new clients to say, “I asked three friends who I should get to trim or remove my trees, and they all said Martin.” Customers have even described his movements in a tree as graceful, almost like performance art—a reflection of his belief that tree work is as much about artistry as it is about strength.
Martin focuses on outcomes, always looking for the most efficient and effective way to get the job done. His creative, sometimes unconventional approaches allow him to work with greater efficiency than many larger tree outfits. “The work is hard enough,” he says. “There’s no need to make it harder than it has to be.”
He holds dual degrees in Forest Management and Plant Pathology from Penn State, as well as a Master of Divinity from Earlham School of Religion in Indiana. His career has included years at a sawmill and logging outfit, leading logger training programs statewide for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative of PA, and more than a decade running his own business under the name Martin Melville. To date, he has worked in 26 states.
In the summer of 2025, Martin passed the business on to his son, marking a new chapter after decades of climbing, cutting, and caring for trees. While he still enjoys being among the branches from time to time, Martin is gradually stepping back and embracing a well-earned retirement. He takes great pride in knowing the business—and the reputation he built—is in good hands for the next generation.
Professional Highlights:
• Climbing trees professionally since 1969 — more than 55 years of hands-on experience
• Bachelor of Science in Forestry (1980) and Bachelor of Science in Plant Science (Pathology, 1980)
• Logging professionally since 1980, with over a decade as proprietor of Melville Forestry Services
• Recipient of the 1997 Pennsylvania Outstanding Logger Award
• Served over three years as Manager of Logger Training Programs for the Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
• Met the criteria for SFI of PA Master Logger Certification (2004)
• Master of Divinity, Earlham School of Religion (2017)
“The best friend on earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources on the earth.”
— Frank Lloyd Wright
Christopher Melville
Owner
Christopher grew up surrounded by the family business. His father (Martin), uncle, and grandfather logged and ran a sawmill for many years, and Christopher was captivated by the heavy equipment and giant machinery, as many young people are. His parents bought him his first hand saw at a young age, and he spent much of his childhood cutting down small trees and splitting firewood at the family property near Colyer Lake. In his teens, he began climbing trees for Martin’s business, eventually taking a gap year between high school and college to run the tree trimming operation and operate logging equipment on several jobs. By then, it was safe to say he had sawdust in his blood.
It’s been said that in a capital-intensive business like logging, “If you buy old equipment, you lie awake at night wondering how you’re going to fix it. If you buy new equipment, you lie awake at night wondering how you’re going to make the payments on it. Take your pick.” The earlier iterations of Melville Forest and Tree leaned toward the former, and as a result, Christopher became as handy with a wrench as he was with a saw. His natural curiosity—“Why did they engineer it that way?” and “How on earth are you supposed to repair this thing?”—led him to study mechanical engineering. He earned his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State in 2013 and left the tree business to work as an engineer.
After more than a decade in that field, and many discussions with his wife about moving back to Centre County to be closer to family, Christopher decided it was time to return to the sawdust. The siren song of the woods had been calling to him for years, and with the experience gained in engineering, he felt ready to take Melville Forest and Tree to the next level. It was time. And thus begins a new chapter—for Christopher and his family, and for Melville Forest and Tree.