In the wake of Wilmington Island tree defenders’ protest last week came additional media attention:
Branch out to protect trees (Savannah Morning News)
Is anyone listening to tree protests? (Savannah Morning News)
Residents Vow to Save Trees (WTOC)
While we are on the topic of trees, what about the kind that comes in a bag. Wander around you local home improvement big box and you’ll likely see bags of cypress mulch. Should you buy the stuff? Probably not, according to the short video recommended by a Sustainable Savannah reader (Thanks, Summer). Here’s “Why kill a tree to grow a flower?”
Last month, the duplex across the street from ours (in the Starland district) was sold. A couple days ago, the nice couple who bought it cut down all four tall old trees on the lot. my wife and i are depressed and pissed. when my wife asked the landlord who owns the duplex next door and who shared the four trees why he collaborated on the slaughter (she put it more politely than that), the landlord said he was tired of raking up the leaves. when he could see that she was on the side on the trees, he added, “they were damaging the fence.” the fence is one of those tangled waist-high cyclone jobs that you see in some of the downtown neighborhoods–hardly a prized asset to the lot. now, where there once was a canopy of trees, there is a clear and uncluttered view of a parking lot–great.
one of the reasons we moved here from New York City was because Savannah is basically an urban forest. we were surprised to discover that Savannah has no ordinances about chopping down trees on one’s own land. I’m not usually a fan of empowering the state to tell me what to do, and i’ve never been a fan of community groups forcing their aesthetic down any single resident’s throats. but there’s a big hole at the end of our street, now. and I can see how collective input from the community affected by the trees, loss might have made this decision a touch more rational. the whole block has been changed because the dude didn’t want to have to rake. i don’t get this at all.
are there laws regulating tree cutting in the historic district? is there a history of people trying to enact such laws? my block would be a hot bland bummer if every anti-raking fanatic decided to chop down his trees.