Application from a landowner… Bet it’s someone trying to improve their view.
Cut doiwn 100 beech trees in Devon and get a small article in the Grauniad.
Cut down 40 palm trees in Torquay and get a few lines in the paper.
Cut down 1 sycamore in Northumberland…
This makes me a little sad.
There used to be a beautiful pine forest out back of a dear friend’s place in Devon. Untouched. We would walk there all the time, for years. Nearest neighbour was a mile away, just us, the trees and the birds.
By the time that dear friend became a romantic partner, industry had already felled half the trees. We still walked there, but it wasn’t quite the same. And not long before she and I quit and never spoke again, there were bulldozers moving in to deal with the rest.
Life imitates art, I suppose.
I want to preface this to say I’m not an absolute treehugger and I realise that sometimes nature needs to be removed to make way for progress in other aspects. For example, I’m fine with some trees and land being destroyed if it makes way for critical housing development or infrastructure depending on the details of it.
However I hate the way this quote:
> “It highlights how intrinsically bound up things like trees, the environment and conservation are with our culture,” he said. “The value of trees gathers importance with age, so I can see why removing them is upsetting. It’s a natural thing that people form an attachment to things they can personify or build a relationship with.”
Like, yeah, sure, that’s one aspect of it but not the whole. People are pissed because it literally impacts the environment. It’s not just the trees. It’s the flora and fauna that relies on them.
The way the quote is written is like saying “oh, I totally get why people are emotional with some trees being knocked down. They personified Mr. Terry Tree and now they’re he’s gone” like it’s some kind of abstract imaginary construct.
There needs to be serious sentences for crimes like this. People get away with a slap on the wrist and a fine way too often.
The Forestry Commission is no better then the councils in Sheffield and Plymouth. They all know trees are important to people so do the dirty and fell trees without notice or consultation. The two councils were called to account and so should the FC. This “We don’t discuss individual cases” is cobblers. A letter to the local MP would be a good start.
“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard’.
7 comments
Application from a landowner… Bet it’s someone trying to improve their view.
Cut doiwn 100 beech trees in Devon and get a small article in the Grauniad.
Cut down 40 palm trees in Torquay and get a few lines in the paper.
Cut down 1 sycamore in Northumberland…
This makes me a little sad.
There used to be a beautiful pine forest out back of a dear friend’s place in Devon. Untouched. We would walk there all the time, for years. Nearest neighbour was a mile away, just us, the trees and the birds.
By the time that dear friend became a romantic partner, industry had already felled half the trees. We still walked there, but it wasn’t quite the same. And not long before she and I quit and never spoke again, there were bulldozers moving in to deal with the rest.
Life imitates art, I suppose.
I want to preface this to say I’m not an absolute treehugger and I realise that sometimes nature needs to be removed to make way for progress in other aspects. For example, I’m fine with some trees and land being destroyed if it makes way for critical housing development or infrastructure depending on the details of it.
However I hate the way this quote:
> “It highlights how intrinsically bound up things like trees, the environment and conservation are with our culture,” he said. “The value of trees gathers importance with age, so I can see why removing them is upsetting. It’s a natural thing that people form an attachment to things they can personify or build a relationship with.”
Like, yeah, sure, that’s one aspect of it but not the whole. People are pissed because it literally impacts the environment. It’s not just the trees. It’s the flora and fauna that relies on them.
The way the quote is written is like saying “oh, I totally get why people are emotional with some trees being knocked down. They personified Mr. Terry Tree and now they’re he’s gone” like it’s some kind of abstract imaginary construct.
There needs to be serious sentences for crimes like this. People get away with a slap on the wrist and a fine way too often.
The Forestry Commission is no better then the councils in Sheffield and Plymouth. They all know trees are important to people so do the dirty and fell trees without notice or consultation. The two councils were called to account and so should the FC. This “We don’t discuss individual cases” is cobblers. A letter to the local MP would be a good start.
“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard’.