Have you woken up recently to go for a walk around the neighbourhood park just to find all (or at least most) of the trees cut down? Well, it turns out you are not alone! Over the last year, waking up to find some trees gone has been more and more frequent. An everyday thing, just like your morning coffee! After thinking it was just a local thing here in Venice city, I then discovered it was something that extended to all of the Veneto region, and even beyond (a friend facebook post dedicating a painting to the maritime pines in Rome ‘just in case they disappear’ made me feel extremely sad, as they are more than just trees) - from the north to the south (yeap, even in Sicily..) . And just a quick google search made me discover that is not even a phenomenon limited to my native peninsula but it extends well beyond. In England it was already happening back in 2018 (read about it here and here, and I haven’t dared to search much more…
The next question coming to mind is.. Why are they doing this? The finger is quickly pointed at the 5G tec, but also at the maintenance costs and dangers if they fell. Councils will say the trees are ill, but often there are no signs of illness. In some cities, residents are paying out of their own pocket ‘tree specialists’ for independent examinations, which usually result in finding that they are as sane as they could possibly be. I don’t have enough information to say why it is happening, and frankly I am not that interested in finding out – whether for a reason or the other, I am angry and worried, and you should be too. Why?
But what can we do as citizens? Plenty! Firslty, demand better natural management, starting petitions and vote better in the next election. Think about voting for the green party. In years to come (if not yet) nature should be at the forefront of all politics because how we deal with it. There is also possibility of getting actively involved with citizen groups, finding out about culling events and stopping them by presence. Some pacifistic protests are sometimes what is needed. We should stand our ground. If you are reading me from Italy, Legambiente is actively involved (at least my local circle in venice is)… Also for full disclosure, I am beginning to be involved in some citizen-driven politics, and I invite my Italian readers to read the manifesto of ‘Un’Altra Città Possibile’ – where the green is not just a little splash of colour but forms the core of the program that we want to present at the next elections. I hope it can be successful and it can be an example for other cities, to shift the way politics work and make it a participative process where citizens can take an active role…
2 Comments
2/16/2020 12:08:43 am
I agree. Leave the trees alone. They are beautiful as they are
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11/5/2020 02:27:54 am
I work for a little Municipality in Canada. We actually have a tree bylaw to prevent this.
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