Most importantly trees provide us with the oxygen by collecting and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They help store and filter other pollutants and the health benefits they provide are more than can be measured. So yeah, they do a fair amount for us - imagine them as our lungs (in reverse), they are the Earth's respiratory system.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in" - Greek Proverb.
What came first, the tree or the power lines?
As I sit is a newly upgraded park in Marrickville there is a good mix of old established trees and new trees that have been added with the playground redevelopment. I wonder if the older trees in the park look at the new 'new kids on the block' with a small amount of jealousy or perhaps fear? Do they hope that they'll get to see as much as they have?
Parks are areas that you generally can see trees reach their potential as space is not really an issue. Although as you can see below, this conifer didn't quite get the support it needed in the beginning but it does add to it's character.
Being the keen plant nerd that I am, I generally take an interest in the green life in my surroundings and today as I sit in this park, an older suburb of Sydney's inner west I have been inspired to write about the trees in our streets and how they are looked after.
There are a few things in this world that really grind my gears but the way some of our local governments and "arborists" manage our trees, particularly the ones lining our streets, is something that can frustrate me to no end.
I can never seem to comprehend the pointlessness of pruning practices like these shown below:
All this "tree management" in most cases is to avoid the nearby power lines, services and other infrastructure. I get it, trees growing into power lines are problematic, trees falling onto houses or roadways is an issue, but who was there first? Is the on going cost to lop branches worth the money and effort? Especially when you see trees which look like they've had the Texas Chainsaw Massacre treatment. These trees, scarred for life, do they have any aesthetic value? Or do they just become and oddity?
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to remove them then to keep them there? Large initial out put for removal Vs. ongoing maintenance? You know the other trees probably make fun of them! To the more natural looking trees, the ones who don't have 'infrastructure issues', they are the laughing stock of the street. I for one really feel for the trees that get hacked to bits periodically - it seems an exercise in futility.
I'm sorry if I keep going back to my experiences in Europe, but gosh darn, it they have a great system for managing their trees. In Berlin and surrounding areas especially, I noticed many street and park trees with number tags attached to the trunks.
This tagging system allows specific maintenance and care for trees. Giving them a number may not seem endearing but it goes along way to showing that they are a public asset and to help record their location, age, species and history. It makes the job of caring for them all the more easy all the while maintaining the cultural and historical significance.
You can argue that given the great percentage of deciduous trees in Europe lends to a better means of maintenance. Having no leaves during the cooler months certainly helps knowing where and what to prune. We don't have such a luxury in Australia with a wider range of evergreen trees.
So what can we do? In older suburbs, not a lot really apart from better education and training to those entrusted with managing our trees, so the best choice can be made and in turn the best care can be applied. Hopefully the end result is we get to enjoy our trees for many generations to come.
It'll be a long time (and pretty costly) before power/telegraph lines are removed and put underground. Until there is wholesale redevelopment in older areas those kind of exercises won't be undertaken. So we need to look at better selection of species when re-planting in these areas, make sure they won't become gigantic trees that will, in the long-term, need costly intervention to stop them becoming a liability
In newer sub divisions and areas being redeveloped, a lot more of our services are being put underground because space is a premium. This means trees can be installed into spaces that allow them to develop more naturally and has alleviated the need for preventative pruning.
Moving forward it's important that we get the tree selection right, putting the round peg in the round hole so to speak. Working together with Landscape Architects, who do the specifying of trees that historically work in said environments (situations/locations etc) and quality nurseries who using best practices, grow their trees to Australian Standards, will go along way in ensuring the quality and health of the trees we plant in the future.
Add the modern systems we have at our disposal (tree pits, soil media, irrigation and drainage systems) in these 'streetscapes', today's trees can have a much better start and brighter future. Like I always, there is nothing better, nothing more important, than proper planning.
This is one of my favourite plant related quotes and to me it says that planting a tree is an investment. It's a connection to the plant world. It gives us the ability to nurture something, as we watch it grow we hope that it will be valued and enjoyed for generations to come. So when did it become OK to manage our trees like this:
 |
| A tree playing limbo with overhead wires at Campsie |
What came first, the tree or the power lines?
As I sit is a newly upgraded park in Marrickville there is a good mix of old established trees and new trees that have been added with the playground redevelopment. I wonder if the older trees in the park look at the new 'new kids on the block' with a small amount of jealousy or perhaps fear? Do they hope that they'll get to see as much as they have?
Parks are areas that you generally can see trees reach their potential as space is not really an issue. Although as you can see below, this conifer didn't quite get the support it needed in the beginning but it does add to it's character.
 |
| That windswept look |
Being the keen plant nerd that I am, I generally take an interest in the green life in my surroundings and today as I sit in this park, an older suburb of Sydney's inner west I have been inspired to write about the trees in our streets and how they are looked after.
There are a few things in this world that really grind my gears but the way some of our local governments and "arborists" manage our trees, particularly the ones lining our streets, is something that can frustrate me to no end.
I can never seem to comprehend the pointlessness of pruning practices like these shown below:
 |
| "Split Personality" - A Lophostemon confertus in St. Marys |
 |
| "Hanging Out" - A Eucalyptus sp. at right angles near Chullora |
All this "tree management" in most cases is to avoid the nearby power lines, services and other infrastructure. I get it, trees growing into power lines are problematic, trees falling onto houses or roadways is an issue, but who was there first? Is the on going cost to lop branches worth the money and effort? Especially when you see trees which look like they've had the Texas Chainsaw Massacre treatment. These trees, scarred for life, do they have any aesthetic value? Or do they just become and oddity?
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to remove them then to keep them there? Large initial out put for removal Vs. ongoing maintenance? You know the other trees probably make fun of them! To the more natural looking trees, the ones who don't have 'infrastructure issues', they are the laughing stock of the street. I for one really feel for the trees that get hacked to bits periodically - it seems an exercise in futility.
I'm sorry if I keep going back to my experiences in Europe, but gosh darn, it they have a great system for managing their trees. In Berlin and surrounding areas especially, I noticed many street and park trees with number tags attached to the trunks.
 |
| A Betula in Berlin's Tiergarten proudly showing it's number |
This tagging system allows specific maintenance and care for trees. Giving them a number may not seem endearing but it goes along way to showing that they are a public asset and to help record their location, age, species and history. It makes the job of caring for them all the more easy all the while maintaining the cultural and historical significance.
You can argue that given the great percentage of deciduous trees in Europe lends to a better means of maintenance. Having no leaves during the cooler months certainly helps knowing where and what to prune. We don't have such a luxury in Australia with a wider range of evergreen trees.
So what can we do? In older suburbs, not a lot really apart from better education and training to those entrusted with managing our trees, so the best choice can be made and in turn the best care can be applied. Hopefully the end result is we get to enjoy our trees for many generations to come.
It'll be a long time (and pretty costly) before power/telegraph lines are removed and put underground. Until there is wholesale redevelopment in older areas those kind of exercises won't be undertaken. So we need to look at better selection of species when re-planting in these areas, make sure they won't become gigantic trees that will, in the long-term, need costly intervention to stop them becoming a liability
In newer sub divisions and areas being redeveloped, a lot more of our services are being put underground because space is a premium. This means trees can be installed into spaces that allow them to develop more naturally and has alleviated the need for preventative pruning.
Moving forward it's important that we get the tree selection right, putting the round peg in the round hole so to speak. Working together with Landscape Architects, who do the specifying of trees that historically work in said environments (situations/locations etc) and quality nurseries who using best practices, grow their trees to Australian Standards, will go along way in ensuring the quality and health of the trees we plant in the future.
Add the modern systems we have at our disposal (tree pits, soil media, irrigation and drainage systems) in these 'streetscapes', today's trees can have a much better start and brighter future. Like I always, there is nothing better, nothing more important, than proper planning.
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