"Kate Morgan" wrote

snip
You will end up with a large heap of chippings - some from bark and
some from the wood in the branches. We had a dozen or so Spruces taken
out earlier in the year - and everything that was too small for logs
went through the tree surgeon's giant chipper. We've used the
chippings successfully for paths & ground cover.

Hope this helps
Adrian

not a dumb question at all, we all have to start somewhere :-) good plan
to get the professionals in to deal with the tree, much safer, the
chippings will be brilly, I have done this and they are excellent for all
sorts of things just like Adrian has said.
good luck

And don't use plastic sheeting under the bark, it will stop it draining and
in rain the bark will all float to the lowest point, besides which it will
damage the soil underneath. Use proper ground cover fabric which allows
water to penetrate.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK