A Tragedy Witnessed - The Fall of the Mighty Oak
Submitted by Millie on Sat, 03/01/2008 - 17:16
(2 votes)
Two men with chainsaws came into the area and cut down a huge, mature oak tree in the name of progress. The lot, on which the tree stood, was sold and the existing house was torn down. All that remained was the beautiful 200+ year-old oak.
I had my suspicions then that it wouldn’t survive long, but to see it come down just broke my heart. While I am in favor of clearing some trees for building, as many trees don’t survive the compaction damage to their root zones from heavy equipment. I think we need to advocate for trees, especially in the urban landscape.
Mature trees are irreplaceable and we’ll never see another tree like this in our lifetime, 60 to 80 feet tall and with a diameter of at least 4.5 feet at the base.
Well-placed trees provide oxygen, shade and cooling and habitat for an entire mini-ecosystem of creatures. The real tragedy in this episode is that the giant trunk of the oak tree was not spared to be preserved as valuable veneer or for furniture. The men cut it into manageable rounds and over a month later are still using a wood splitter to cut up the oak’s remains into manageable pieces of firewood.
What was once a beautiful tree in the neighborhood is now something that will go up into flames in people’s fireplaces. As a gardener I have vowed to be more pro-active if I think a valuable tree might come down.
You can become more active too. Talk to the builder or developer of their plans for the site. Educate people about the value of trees. Become active in your local government and take action to protect trees. Have a list of local sawmills or furniture makers that will use the tree in a positive way.
As the general public gets further removed from nature and the natural world, gardeners and people who are in touch with the earth need to become more active. We need to ensure that we don’t pave paradise and put up a parking lot
Right On
I don't know of Margaret is still with us or not, but her commentary is right on. These types of trees in our landscapes are few and far between. We can't save them after fact. All the kings horses and all the kings men can't glue them together again.
I have dealt with a similar situation nearby my home in a rural landscape, a tradgedy because i didn't think about what that Asplundth truck was settin in the Church parking lot for, when I went to work that fateful morning. Hmmmm may be another tale to tell here.
"Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does"-- George Bernard Shaw