Save the Trees
It should not be this easy for trees to be axed.
Especially when the weapons are in the hands of councillors, our elected officials.
On Tuesday night, over 100 trees were felled in Plymouth's city centre to make way for a new regeneration project. This came just days after an independent inquiry criticised Sheffield city council for felling thousands of healthy trees, misleading court judges who were scrutinising plans and the arrest of many elderly protesters.
Sudden disappearances of trees have been occurring across the country, from Reading to Wellingborough. In each case, the council has 'apologised' for the loss, but once felled, a tree is dead, forgotten, and developments go on on regardless.
The loss of one tree alone is mournful. The loss of forested land; ecologically harmful. But this repeated blight on trees caused by councils across the country? This is systematic, reprehensible slaughter.
And they say they worry about ash dieback.
In Plymouth, local authorities claim that the new regeneration scheme will enable the planting of 169 trees - more than were cut down. Yet a given tree cannot simply be replaced. In climate terms, a small sapling often takes several decades of growth before it is able to store the amount of carbon a fully established tree can. Meanwhile, the soil ecosystem is thrown out of equilibrium by changes in soil structure, drainage and biodiversity. A mere glance at its bare branches and its clear that the abundance of different habitats have declined. Where did all those homes go?
Moreover, a tree is a life, isn't it? Not to mention all the birds, insects, ecosystems and humans it supports. To cut down a tree is to value something else above its right to existence. In this case, another tree as part of a manicured development scheme for humans. Is that justified? Through our anthropocentric eyes, maybe. But even then, this pattern is unsustainable, contributing to the breakdown of the climate and biodiversity such that we threaten our own existence and those of future generations.
In the eyes of another, perhaps we could see, we should respect the tree's right to be.
In the UK, we go on criticising the shameful destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the poaching of mesmerising creatures, such as elephants for ivory and sharks for momentary delicacies. Yet here, right here, destruction is at its worst, with the UK being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. We like to tell ourselves that we are leaders in sustainability. We set examples, transfer technologies like carbon capture and storage and set up carbon offsetting schemes, which claim to offset one's emissions by planting trees in abstract plots of land around the globe. Yet we are blind to our own hypocrisy. The threads of our blindfolds sewn by systems of racial capitalism and colonial legacies that portray ourselves as knowledgeable and developed, ready to educate impoverished peoples. By casting eyes beyond our seas, we do not have to contend with our own questionable development projects, leaving much of our population oblivious to the destruction on their doorstep.
Of course, this is a generalisation and there are many examples of successful wildlife conservation in the UK, as well as examples of collaborative overseas projects that would not otherwise have happened without funding from external donors. For instance, Vanessa's Vash Green Schools Project would not be able to supply solar panels and cleaner stoves to schools in Uganda if it weren't for the financial support of Tim Reutemann from Switzerland. Nevertheless, these few successes for the planet are vastly outweighed by the state of nature as it stands. Overall, our behaviour in the UK is unsustainable.
This is not the way it has to be. As we've seen, people do care when they hear about the destruction around them and many are motivated to take action. Before the trees were uprooted in Plymouth, 16,000 local residents signed a petition to protect them. Unfortunately, all it took was one signature more powerful than the many to sign an executive order to cut down the trees, within hours of the petition closing.
But if we hold our councillors to account and make our outrage known, we can bring them to justice. Let's show our so-called representatives that we do not endorse felling. In this climate crisis, the loss of any tree is hard to justify, especially when done on the sly, under cover of the nightfall. If we share these stories, we make it known to our own politicians that such degradation is not okay and, hopefully, make them less likely to cut down trees in the future. We can vote for individuals that respect the inherent value of biodiversity and build systems that seek to protect life, rather than exploit it. It may be a slow change, but a necessary one, and the sooner we make our opinions known about the injustice in Plymouth, the better.
H_M
Bibliography:
BBC. Biodiversity: UK is one of the world's most most nature-depleted countries. BBC Newsround. [Online]. 11 October. [Accessed 16 March 2023]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/58863097
Laville, H. 2023. ‘A disgrace’: more than 100 trees cut down in Plymouth despite local opposition. The Guardian. [Online]. 15 March. [Accessed 16 March 2023]. Available from:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/15/a-disgrace-more-than-100-trees-cut-down-in-plymouth-despite-local-opposition
Markson, T. 2021. Reading council contractor apologises after cutting trees without permission. Reading Chronicle. [Online]. 18 March. [Accessed 16 March 2023]. Available from: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/19169505.reading-council-contractor-apologises-cutting-trees-without-permission/
Morris, J. 2023. Plymouth trees: call for independent inquiry into felling. BBC News. [Online]. 16 March. [Accessed 16 March 2023]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64974072
Nakate, V. 2021. A Bigger Picture. London: Pac Macmillan.
Pidd, H. 2023. Sheffield city council behave dishonestly in street trees row, inquiry finds. The Guardian. [Online]. 6 March. [Accessed 16 March 2023]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/06/sheffield-city-council-behaved-dishonestly-in-street-trees-row-inquiry-finds
Straw. 2023. STRAW Plymouth (Save the TRees of Armada Way). [Online]. [Accessed 16 March 2023]. Available from: https://strawplymouth.com/
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