Who We Are
Beyond the Bushes is a contracting firm with a Class B (General Building Contractor) and C-61/D-49 (Tree Service) licenses from the California State License Board. We focus on government and commercial projects and specialize in weed abatement, brush clearance, service or back road maintenance, lot clearance, tree cutting and removal, vegetation management, and fire hazard reduction services in the Southern California area.
We understand the communities we serve face harsh and sometimes overwhelming hazardous fire area regulations. However, these weed abatement and vegetation management protocols help to keep our communities and wild life safe from wildfires and limit the potential for small brush fires to threaten our neighborhoods.
Leading the Industry
Our management has a unique expertise and skill set when it comes to weed abatement and fire hazard reduction challenges in Southern California. Each of our project managers and crew leaders have worked for county fire departments on wild-land fire crews fighting fires in Southern California and conducting large scale weed abatement projects for the Santa Barbara and Ventura County Fire Departments. We currently serve Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties.
Our team of highly motivated individuals, with a fresh and forward thinking mentality, provide not only the best in customer service but the most advanced Eco-friendly techniques and methods in the industry. At Beyond the Bushes, we don’t fall in line with short-lived trends or fads. We build lasting relationships with our customers whether they are local government, business clients, or Southern California home-owners.
We have provided landscape and fire hazard reduction services for a wide variety of clients, including the United States Navy (Naval Amphibious Base Coronado), the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), Cal Lutheran University, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Saint Julie Billiart), and many more. Beyond the Bushes holds the following certifications:
- WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
- WOSB (Woman Owned Small Business) by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council, West
- MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council
- ESBE (Emerging Small Business Enterprise) by the California Department of General Services
Our Team
Wendi Gonzalez- Schmelter
President and Project Executive
Wendi started in the construction industry with Gonzalez and Sons Construction, where she oversaw extensive multi-level framing projects. She mastered skills such as prevailing wage, building code and permits, planning, and staff management. Wendi began running a landscape division for Gonzalez and Sons Construction and then decided to open her own company. She then created Beyond the Bushes and now has over 15 years of experience managing large scale commercial and government construction projects.
Jared Ryan
Estimator and Project Manager
Jared joined the team in 2014. He oversaw all landscape construction projects. He has managed construction projects for Federal and local governments including the United States Navy. Jared worked for the Ventura County Fire Department on the wild-land fire crew. He gained his fire hazard reduction knowledge on live fire operations, on some of California's largest wildfires in history. On the fire crew, he also gained weed abatement expertise and performed countless weed abatement and brush clearance operations throughout Ventura County.
Frank Gonzalez
Superintendent
Frank has run countless multi-million dollar construction projects for commercial and government clients, including large scale landscape to high rise buildings. There is no project too big for Frank to tackle head on. He is a master at overseeing jobs with large crews and intricate tasks. Frank will always make sure a project is done right, and done on time.
Carey Everhart
Machine Operator and Foreman
Carey joined the team in 2014 and was brought on as a foreman for residential landscape construction projects. Carey now runs crews for weed abatement and brush clearance jobs. He has years of experience with the Santa Barbara and Ventura County Fire Department Fire Crews conducting large scale wild land fire operations. Carey was a Sawyer during the fire season and would run the vegetation management crews on the off season conducting many weed abatement projects all over Southern California.
Justin Iglehart
Machine Operator and Foreman
Justin was recruited to the team in 2016 because of his extensive experience with fire hazard reduction tasks. He worked on the Santa Barbara County Fire Hand Crew for five years working on some of the largest wild land fires in the history of California. Justin operated many forms of heavy machinery on live fire operations and ran weed abatement and vegetation management projects during the off season.
Wendi Gonzalez- Schmelter
President and Project ExecutiveWendi started in the construction industry with Gonzalez and Sons Construction, where she oversaw extensive multi-level framing projects. She mastered skills such as prevailing wage, building code and permits, planning, and staff management. Wendi began running a landscape division for Gonzalez and Sons Construction and then decided to open her own company. She then created Beyond the Bushes and now has over 15 years of experience managing large scale commercial and government construction projects.
Jared Ryan
Estimator and Project ManagerJared joined the team in 2014. He oversaw all landscape construction projects. He has managed construction projects for Federal and local governments including the United States Navy. Jared worked for the Ventura County Fire Department on the wild-land fire crew. He gained his fire hazard reduction knowledge on live fire operations, on some of California's largest wildfires in history. On the fire crew, he also gained weed abatement expertise and performed countless weed abatement and brush clearance operations throughout Ventura County.
Frank Gonzalez
SuperintendentFrank has run countless multi-million dollar construction projects for commercial and government clients, including large scale landscape to high rise buildings. There is no project too big for Frank to tackle head on. He is a master at overseeing jobs with large crews and intricate tasks. Frank will always make sure a project is done right, and done on time.
Carey Everhart
Machine Operator and ForemanCarey joined the team in 2014 and was brought on as a foreman for residential landscape construction projects. Carey now runs crews for weed abatement and brush clearance jobs. He has years of experience with the Santa Barbara and Ventura County Fire Department Fire Crews conducting large scale wild land fire operations. Carey was a Sawyer during the fire season and would run the vegetation management crews on the off season conducting many weed abatement projects all over Southern California.
Justin Iglehart
Machine Operator and ForemanJustin was recruited to the team in 2016 because of his extensive experience with fire hazard reduction tasks. He worked on the Santa Barbara County Fire Hand Crew for five years working on some of the largest wild land fires in the history of California. Justin operated many forms of heavy machinery on live fire operations and ran weed abatement and vegetation management projects during the off season.