Great article from the Vancouver Sun (that’s Vancouver, BC, not Vancouver, WA), about residents fighting to protect their environmental enrichment. No joke; the loudest argument for protecting the trees is "we LIKE them!":
So why do people feel so passionately about the trees in their neighbourhood, passionate enough to throw eggs and compare the act to murder?
Trees certainly have an immediate impact on our senses. We love the way they look, sound and smell.
The breath of a gentle breeze rustling leaves can be immensely soothing. The swaying of taller, slender trees in the wind can be hypnotic to watch. Trunks are huggable. There are books that focus entirely and enthusiastically on the colour and texture of bark.
Lush canopies, as vast as clouds, shade us in summer. Leafless in winter, the graceful framework of a tree’s dark branches can be transformed into art when the contorted shapes are set naked against a cool blue or silver sky.
If a beautiful tree rises up in another’s yard, even in the next street or two lanes over or on a hill at the end of the road, we still somehow feel a compelling sense of ownership.
It may not be legally true, but we feel such a tree belongs to us, all of us; it is a community treasure, a gift, an essential component of the visible landscape, a landmark, a priceless gem of nature that deserves to be admired, maintained and protected.
The article goes on to offer different possible solutions to managing and maintaining community trees.
Go Canucks! 🙂
Mental Flowers 