There is quite a bit of tree/nature news happening now. The Inner West Courier reported that 3 residents of High Street Strathfield set up camp on the nature strip to peacefully protest Strathfield Council’s order for the nature strip to be destroyed for a temporary pedestrian crossing.  The residents’ protest was successful in that the work has been postponed. You can read the article by clicking on the following link – http://inner-west-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/residents-protest-saves-path/

The Cumberland Courier wrote an article this week saying Baulkham Hills residents are furious at Integral Energy for the way their contractors pruned street trees recently.

The local politician, Castle Hill State Liberal MP Michael Richardson has taken a stand calling on the State Government to step in to stop the “butchering.”  Reading this made me hoot with joy.  Finally, a politician has stepped up & challenged the ‘never to be questioned’ power of these companies.

This tree was pruned a long time ago, certainly more than 12 months & it only has small patches of regrowth

Intergal Energy’s letter in reply to Mr Richardson said “While trimming can look severe at first, trees regrow at a normal rate & training them away from power-lines avoids the need to remove them entirely in the future.”  I dispute this having witnessed energy Australia contractors pruning the thin hanging branches of Bottlebrush trees closer to the ground than the wires.  It was entirely unnecessary.

In my opinion they ruined the street trees in my area in 2000 & came & did a much harder prune late 2009.  Many of the trees are hardly worth keeping after this last visit.  Marrickville Council knows this because they have removed a whole street of trees after they have been pruned for power-lines.  It’s a vicious cycle & one I would like to see stopped.  See the Shame Page 1 & 2 on this site for examples.

For the record, I know that trees need to be pruned to prevent blackouts/fire caused by damage to the cables by branches moving in the wind during storms.  However, I strongly believe the energy companies can do much better with their pruning & I am not alone in this.

They can also make AB Cabling cheaper so the councils can afford to use it.  In the long run, it will save significant amounts of money for the energy companies who must pay out millions each year to pay contractors to prune street trees.

You can read the full article by clicking on the following link – http://cumberland-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/residents-fury-at-tree-butchering-in-hills/

Marrickville Ave Marrickville - shocking

In America they are having a similar argument about their energy supplier ComEd’s treatment of street & public trees.  It is of such concern to the community that ways to manage the problem is the subject of debate in a public forum between 4 State Senators who are candidates for the DuPage County Board Chairman’s seat, a necessary step before going to State Primary elections.  Serious stuff.  All 4 senators want state legislation to bring in measures of control.

“The current state statute is insufficient to deal with this perpetual problem,” Olson (one of the State Senators) said. “I have joined the chairman of the (county board’s) environmental committee in proposing & supporting legislation that would require ComEd to replace high-growing trees they cut down or disfigure under their transmission lines with lower-growing native species.”

Senator Cronin said, “Utilities are subject to specific tree-care standards & the county must ensure that ComEd is meeting those expectations.”

Senator Pankau wants to initiate a program requiring contractors to undergo certified training by the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, which I guess is the equivalent of our Botanical gardens.

I find it astounding that American’s love their public trees so much, they become a voting issue & politicians have to stand up for what they believe about trees in a public forum & that sufficient numbers of people will attend.

You can read the full article at the following link – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=349705

There is much more tree news.  To keep this post to a decent size I will post the rest soon.