BTC/146/2020 - Tree Value: the Missing Metric in Built-Environment Management (Arboriculture Australia)
Of course, it is easy to think that this article is based on UK experience and so it does not apply in Australia, but it does because tree mismanagement is rife all over the world. For example, in 2010, the nonsense surrounding the Newcastle Laman Street fig trees illustrated how technical arguments can be misused to justify tree removals, with no serious consideration of tree value. I saw the trees in 2009 before they were removed, so I am speaking from a position of knowledge when I say that the case against felling was both credible and practical, but that wisdom was dismissed and the trees were lost. A decade on, despite the substantial body or research supporting the benefits that trees provide, another example illustrates how lessons are still not being learnt. Lake Macquarie City Council has consented the felling of several valuable trees including a substantial plane as part of the redevelopment of the Pearson Street Mall, Charlestown, NSW, without formally demonstrating that tree value was factored into the decision making process.