Well an old tree has been chopped down by a silly adolescent. A significant landmark in many people's lives. The idiot got his five minutes of fame and now it is for the authorities to decide what to do. To allow the shoots to grow from the chopped trunk of the tree, or maybe plant another mature tree (£100,000 quoted this morning).
It is a sycamore, a tree which spreads its seed with great abundance over lawns, driveways but probably not in the more inhospitable environment it found itself in the Northumberland Park Authorities at Hadrian's Wall.
Sentiment is a fine thing as long as it does not go overboard. Such news pushes the more serious news out of the limelight and we can once again vent our righteous anger at the little toe rag who thought he was being clever. Robert Macfarlane the poet says we should plant a forest in the tree's memory. Though that seems rather going over the top, but more trees are always welcome.
But we can also take action, firstly by signing the Woodland Trust petition and then respecting these givers of oxygen, shade for our streets and just beautiful creatures that take up their space on Earth with such grace a modicum of protection against the vandals who would chop them down. That of course includes the trail of the HS2 rail from the South to the North which has vandalised so many old woodlands along its route.
You have hit the nail right on th head here Thelma. I hear this morning that a 60 year old man has also been arrested now. The idea of a forest in memory is a good one - if they did the same for every tree removed for HS 2 and all the trees removed by Local Authorities in the name of making things safer then the whole country would be back to how it was many centuries ago. I think schools could do more in getting children to appreciate how beautiful and how important trees are to the environment.
ReplyDeleteYes when the councils chop down trees on the pavements in towns (because they are messy and require too much labour) there is always a general outcry Pat. Save the Trees.
DeleteHere comes a 'did you know' moment which may be a bit of mansplaining: A 'toe rag' was a piece of cloth tied to a length of string which you drew through a gun barrel to clean it.
ReplyDeleteI am always glad of being informed Tom, wasn't sure it was the right term anyway. Since I wrote the above a 60 year old man has been arrested as well. The plot thickens.
DeleteThis was one tree, albeit in a spectacular setting. But as you note, we are living with legalised vandalism of our tree heritage by so many arms of the establishment that pass by with so little comment or outrage. Recently I read of over 16 million trees, many in old growth woodland, sacrificed by the Scottish government on the altar of useless wind turbines, the list is never ending.
ReplyDeleteApologies Will, but I did fact check that info about 16 million trees being cut down for wind turbines and found this....
Delete"According to the government agency Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), 14 million trees were cut down to make way for wind farms in Scotland, but this had occurred over 20 years.
Meanwhile, over the same period (from 2000), 272 million trees were planted across the country."
So both pieces of the news are true but it wasn't taking into account the number of new trees planted. And however much you dislike wind turbine farms they are here to stay. Old wings of the turbines can be turned into bridges apparently.
Thanks for the update and correction. My concern in this instance was that surely there could have been better choices of location for the wind farms that did not sacrifice so many trees, given the exhortations to plant trees.
DeleteThat's fascinating about using the blades to build bridges. Off for another read. I just had a good read about the sycamore and then the investigation and the 60 year old man arrested...I did not see how a sixteen year old could have done this alone. SOMEONE would need to be filming his tiktok video. Now I'll go off to read about windmill blade bridges.
ReplyDeleteWell it is only a start Debby of finding ways to use the discarded wings or maybe sails of the wind turbines. The sycamore also attracts aphids as well which leave a sticky surface to cars. The Hadrian Wall sycamore was emblematic of the district though, appearing on a lot of the leaflets, etc. that the park people printed.
DeleteIt is not only trees being destroyed, appalling as that is. Around here, no end of front gardens have been paved over for parking for 4-car families, and back gardens covered because they can't be bothered to mow the lawns and trim the shrubs. We have not seen any bats at dusk this year since a large tree was removed from a nearby garden, nor any hedgehogs.
ReplyDeleteWell with the oncoming use of electric cars, people will not be able to have four cars on their driveways Tasker - too expensive. We are sold the garden as an outdoor space to fill with barbecue, faux settees and decking, the bees and insects are just a nuisance to some folk.
DeleteI'm waiting to see what justice is dispensed.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how much of it is a criminal act Joanne, the boy has already been bailed.
DeleteYes, this tragedy made world news. It is bad enough for war to destroy our forests, but idle curiosity?
ReplyDeleteEventually it will all come to light why this happened Tabor.
ReplyDelete