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Fight to save habitat trees at UNE
Students and staff at the University of New England have reacted strongly against the decision to remove 78 native trees from the campus, and are calling for the demolition to cease immediately.
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All students and staff have a stake in the good reputation of their university. By moving secretly to destroy trees, and without any reference to progressive practices for habitat conservation, the UNE management are placing the university in a very poor position.
The destruction of habitat is terrible, but the secrecy, the lack of consultation with academic staff, and the complete removal and chipping of the trees is really disappointing.
It seems that there is a trend across Australia for tree removal. My institution has done the same thing, as has my local council along all the roads in their jurisdiction, even in isolated rural and bush areas. As just one example of many, near my house one of the old trees removed by Council was for years a roost and a nesting site for a pair of masked owls, but it seems that no assessment was done prior to the cutting down of the tree. A cursory scrutiny of the ground under the tree would have revealed the litter of owl pellets and faeces, but apparently the arborist contractors were blind to the evidence…
We seem to have reached a point where fear of litigation has overtaken our capacity to be at least partially responsible for our own safety. Perhaps nature is too dangerous for humans to allow to it creep out beyond the bounds of national parks…
UNE Tree Removal Program – information from the University website: https://www.une.edu.au/connect/tree-removal