Don’s Tips: Tree Preservation

gum blossoms

Tree Preservation

I am a deadset tree lover and I adore the Aussie bushland.  I am also a qualified tree surgeon and arborist.

However, some trees should be chopped down.  The tree that fell on and killed little Bridget Wright and injured several others at Pitt Town public school is a case in point.

Native gum trees, like any other living thing, have a lifespan after which they die.  Gum trees also suffer very badly when houses or schools are build nearby.  Soil compaction and soil level changes plus changes in drainage patterns can kill trees.

The tree preservation ordinances around Australia often made it near impossible to remove dangerous or badly placed trees.  These tree preservation ordinances need to be abolished.  The sentiment behind them is a good one, but the laws themselves merely make people hate trees.  Since these silly laws were introduced the planting of trees in suburban areas has massively declined.  The NSW Nursery Industry Association estimates that the sales of trees from nurseries have shrunken by 95% in the last 10-15 years.

Tree preservation ordinances lead to less trees in cities: people won’t plant them because they can’t remove or prune them later on.  We need better laws to prevent more tragic deaths like Bridget’s.  Let’s hope that her passing leads to better laws and systems affecting trees.

Hooroo, Don