Ruth Heil enjoys diversity. She is an author, freelance writer, musician, Nature-print artist, ecologist, and certified arborist. Her career history may seem random and chaotic, but it has all been linked by her passion to help humanity return to its creative, essential, Nature-connected existence.
One way to get to know Ruth is to read what she’s written. Her perspective is shared via the links on the portfolio page of her freelance writing website, TheWriteBeat.com. For more, here is her autobiography:
Autobiography
by Ruth Heil
I began my career in advertising; consulted to small businesses after the agency closed; and then trimmed down my services to just include writing. Later in life, I found the ability to communicate by adding Nature printing to my portfolio. Finally, a storm blew in a whole new career in 2019, forcing me to see a path that had been there for me for all along: tree care.
As an author, I write to support readers who care and understand that their lives impact the lives of others, human and non-human. I honor attempts to proceed with gratitude and respect. I remind readers to trust their instincts and encourage them to notice the universal creation that surrounds us all. In this way, I consider myself not an author, but a promoter of awareness.
My freelance writingniche favors ghostwriting, through which I tweak the sincere messages of others to increase reader understanding. In this way, I consider myself not a writer, but a cultivator of communication.
As an amateur pianist, I play classical, folk, and other melodies on my most prized possession: a Boston studio piano. It was on my mother’s Philadelphia-made Betsy Ross spinet that I learned my lessons, the ones she scrounged to buy for me, starting in the 3rd grade, ending when I was 18. Unable to “play by ear,” I am instead adept at reading sheet music, which lets me explore the endless world of written composition. When I do venture out of the practice room and into public, I enjoy the transformation that music brings as people of all abilities throw off their self consciousness and start singing or playing along. In this way, I consider myself not a musician but a music-enjoyment facilitator.
As a Nature-print artist, I communicate through imagery the awe that the ecosystem inspires. I subscribe to the belief that Nature needs our appreciation and respect in order to for it to continue to provide all that we need to survive. I strive to create prints that closely mirror the colors, textures, and other details of the original object. In this way, I consider myself not an artist but a Nature translator.
WINDS BRING DRAMATIC CHANGE
In May of 2019, a fierce, straightline windstorm took down every towering oak tree surrounding my widowed friend’s home. It also blew me into a completely new career. Compelled to do something, I turned to our mutal arborist friend and volunteered to help him cleanup the extensive tree damage. Within 24 hours, I was given a hardhat and hired. Working on Warren Jacob’s three-person crew became an experience that carried me through the Covid-19 pandemic with my sanity intact and finally revealed what I wanted to do when I grew up.
At age 50, I began getting paid for my eight-year-old s
elf’s favorite thing: climbing and hanging out with trees. Then, in Sept. of 2023, Warren retired. Not ready to stop; accustomed to self employment; wanting to stay involved with an amazing network of true professionals; and unwilling to work for just any “tree care” employer, I began Natural Renderings Outdoor Maintenance and Arborist Assistant Services. My mission: help property owners keep natural areas and woodlots intact and to help ethical arborists care for our urban forest.
WHAT REMAINS THE SAME
Other personal influences include the love of my husband whose competitiveness, support, and zest pushes me and whose patience has perserved through all my turns. I also favor my predominately Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors. The community that shaped them favored the concept of “save and reuse.” As farmers, they were at the mercy of the land and weather. As immigrants, they learned to survive in America using their own skills and self-taught trades. They were, and I am, industrious, devout, self-sufficient, open to every shade of religious expression, and dedicated to wasting nothing.
In all my work, I strive to say what needs to be said while building a well-balanced, healthy environment for myself and others.
Memberships
I am a supporting member of the following organizations:
- International Society of Aboriculture and Penn/Del ISA Chapter
- Earthjustice
- International League of Conservation Writers
- Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association (MAREA)
- National Writers Union
- WHYY Public Television
Until 2021, I was honored to serve as chairperson of the Environmental Advisory Council in Lower Frederick Township.