Latest news with #SarahBekessy
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Simple solution could save tree Aussie council claims is 'serious risk to public'
An Australian council has slapped a notice on a towering gum tree, informing residents of its intention to cut it down. Like other local governments around the country, Sydney's Inner West Council intends to plant replacement trees when the yellow bloodwood is gone, but a leading planning expert warns this seemingly sensible solution often contains one key flaw. "Sadly, it takes decades for trees to grow big enough to provide habitat," Professor Sarah Bekessy said. Bekessy is a professor of sustainability and urban planning at RMIT and a lead councillor at the Biodiversity Council, and she's been working with colleagues to find "clever ways" of maintaining old trees in urban environments. The problem of managing large trees in suburban areas is confounding councils around Australia, and often the simplest solution is to get a quote from an arborist and chop it down. But as Waverley and Randwick councils in Sydney's east recently discovered, chopping down beloved street trees often infuriates the residents they're charged with servicing. The tree the Inner West Council wants to cut down is located in Leichhardt on a street dominated by mid-story natives, making the large eucalypt an anomaly. Photos indicate it is surrounded by a footpath and road with no shrubs or grasses underneath, meaning locals are likely to walk underneath it. Social media has been running hot with debate about the Leichhardt tree. One said the eucalypt was simply "existing" and the plan to cut it down was "nonsense". Other residents agreed with council, with one declaring it looked "way too big for the street and pavement". "If a qualified arborist said it's unsafe and then council ignored this advice, then there'd be some explaining to do," another added. The notice on the tree indicates the decision was made because it's damaging infrastructure and dropping limbs. When Yahoo News asked for more information, council responded with a short statement explaining it was a danger to the public. "This tree is being removed due to safety concerns. Between 2019 and 2024, the tree has dropped three limbs and poses a serious risk to the public," it said. "To balance the need to uphold safety and increasing the canopy, the Inner West continues to plant more than 1,000 trees each year." While Bekessy doesn't want to dismiss the danger the tree could pose, she notes in many situations there are simple, low-cost solutions to keeping the public and vehicles out of harm's way. "No one wants to be bumped on the head by a branch, but one of the things that we've been doing with councils is planting out underneath trees," she said. "A prickly mid-story of plants happens to be absolutely fabulous habitat for birds and insects. But it also makes it very unlikely that someone's going to want to sit there or park a car there." 🐨 Calls to release documents behind helicopter shooting of koalas 🛳️ Travellers almost kill 'world's oldest animals' during luxury cruise ship tour 📸 Photos reveal details of 'secret' koala colony discovered in impenetrable forest A similar solution was suggested after US-tech company Honeywell said it needed to cut down a 400-year-old tree because of the danger it posed to people walking to the building recently constructed next door. It ultimately found a way to save the tree. Whether Inner West Council explored this option remains a mystery, as it did not respond directly to questions from Yahoo about this matter. And it's possible local authorities have no choice but to remove the tree. It's also unclear whether it has investigated what sorts of wildlife will lose their habitat when it is felled, or what species of replacement trees will take its place. Speaking generally about mature trees, Bekessy said they "punch above their weight" when it comes to providing health and wellbeing benefits to residents. "It's time we started seeing green infrastructure as legitimate infrastructure. Sometimes it needs to be managed so it's not damaging other infrastructure, but we can't trade them off each other. We need to work out better designs to enable both to exist," she said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Call for overhaul of Aussie council powers after controversial decision: 'Determined to get justice'
An Aussie city council has doubled down on a controversial plan to destroy a towering tree due to claims it damaged one man's fence, lawn and driveway. The decision has prompted one of the nation's leading urban planners to call for important, old trees to be federally protected because their importance to both communities and the environment doesn't appear to be recognised by guidelines at a local government level. Professor Sarah Bekessy from RMIT and the Biodiversity Council said big old trees are 'rare' in cities, but they're still being destroyed at a rapid rate. And she's questioned whether Randwick City Council, in Sydney's east, actually needs to axe a 24-metre high weeping fig on Quail Street, Clovelly, because of concerns around insurance. 'There's always an excuse for getting rid of a tree, whether it's safety or damage to infrastructure. But that's just missing the point about their enormous benefits,' she told Yahoo News. 'It's exponential, the benefits that trees provide as they grow and get bigger. You know that standing under a small shrub doesn't give you a cooling benefit, but an enormous fig tree with a huge canopy would cool the street really substantially. 'Because the benefits accrue with size, we should also have laws that recognise that and protect them, rather than guidelines that almost seem to promote their destruction.' Related: Charming Aussie town split over future of 80-year-old trees While Randwick City Council has advised it has planted over 2,000 new trees in recent years, Bekessy believes claims like this are 'pretty silly'. 'We kid ourselves that we can cut down trees, then plant other trees, and you know that the wildlife will patiently wait decades for the trees to grow and provide the habitat. That doesn't happen. You know, we have to start actually getting with it — in terms of the value of keeping all trees in our landscape,' she said. Locals say the fig holds important memories, provides shade, and is home to wildlife. They've sketched images of a possum, owl and kookaburra on its bark to represent the creatures set to lose their homes, and a large bow has been tied around it as a symbol of its importance. ❌ Leonardo Dicaprio urges Australia to 'shut down' controversial salmon farms ☠️ Tragic koala secret revealed as new road built through suburb 🔎 'Mysterious' new Aussie spider discovered near outback creek Earlier, councillors from Randwick City Council had voted overwhelmingly to destroy the tree. The decision followed advice from its insurer that it pay out the homeowner whose property was alleged to have been damaged by its root system. Because future claims would subsequently not be covered, council claimed it had no choice but to kill the tree. But furious residents protested against the decision, disputing whether the tree was actually impacting the home, questioning council's choice to pay the claim, and urging it to spare the tree. In response, council held an extraordinary general meeting this week to re-evaluate the tree's future, but simply voted once again to axe it. It later told Yahoo News, all 'feasible options to retain the tree' have been exhausted and restated its belief the tree was responsible for the damage. 'Council has been actively managing the tree for many years to try and retain it. This has included undertaking canopy pruning, root investigations and pruning and repairs to the footpath,' it said. Residents in the leafy suburbs of Clovelly and Coogee aren't about to roll over to this latest hurdle, and the matter is expected to be taken to court. They've requested materials that the council has relied on in making its decision so they can be independently reviewed. Several residents have explained they are frustrated with what they claim is a lack of council transparency. They've lodged a freedom of information request, calling for the arborist report, and written communications between the insurer and council. If council doesn't comply with the request, the residents plan to commence legal action in the land and environment court. 'We are determined to get justice for the tree,' local man Rob Aird told Yahoo. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
