Over the past two days I have been listening to the roar of the chainsaw taking down a magnificent 80ft+ Ash tree near my home. I have watched it mark the seasons since I moved here in 1964. It must have stood for many years before that, giving comfort and home to different birds, squirrels, and numerous other wild creatures. I don’t know the reason for its removal but it makes me very sad to see it go. In the last few months, in the vicinity of my house, three other large trees have been cut down. One was a beautiful Cedar of Lebanon, very large for an average size garden I admit. One was a tall and imposing Oak tree. Another was a beautiful old Walnut tree, many years old and presumably cut down for its timber. We are told to keep planting trees and they have a great influence on our climate, but old valuable trees are still being destroyed. To replace trees like these will take many years, and yet they are still cut down in their prime. Do we assume that they suddenly become ‘dangerous’ or is it that they cast too much shade! If we still keep having hot summers, shouldn’t we be grateful for the shade they give and the dangerous gasses they take out of our environment. Will we never learn?
Ann Heath
