canberrabirds

Removal of street trees

To: Nick Payne <>
Subject: Removal of street trees
From: Robin Hide <>
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:12:50 +1000

The old/diseased tree removal program, began last week in parts of Ainslie, including Corroboree Park, as described in the page 3 story in todays Canberra Times (that focuses on a single Eucalyptus mannifera). A further note may be of interest.
Five trees were in fact felled in the Corroboree Park plantings. Two of them were on the western, Toms Crescent, side of the park: one was a favourite perching site of the Australian Hobbies that frequent/nest in the Park (clearly visible from my back deck and a sad personal loss!), the other will be missed by numbers of galahs who were always at work on its bark (and who complained bitterly when it was being felled). When the felling/clearing/mulching was in progress, I told one of the work team about the nesting Tawny Frogmouths in a neighbouring tree, and suggested they be given as much space from noise/disturbance as possible.
I don’t know about the immediate health status of the felled trees, however the notification sent out to (some?) immediate neighbours of the Park on 29 May by Scenic Landscape Architecture (who assessed the viability of the trees), gave the following reasons for the removal of the five trees: “Poor condition, hollows throughout tree”; “Poor condition dead on top, fungal wood decay”; “Serious Upper Trunk rot”; and “Extensive lower trunk damage”).  The next morning walking through the Park I encountered Stephen Ryan, the host of the ABC Gardening Australia program, with a camera crew who were filming another tree (not a mannifera) in the centre of the Park (near the basketball court) that Ryan told me was totally hollow and thus also should be removed. I think ducks had nested in that tree last year. Look out for a future segment on the program on the problems of elderly urban trees? Ryan was pushing the issue of public safety, especially in parks used by many including children.
Replantings (14 E. mannifera are promised to fill in the gaps from the 5 now cut, and earlier gaps) are planned at Corroboree Park. But one wonders whether such replacements will be as successful and longlived as the existing trees, when one sees how damaging current park management practices appear to be (eg grasscutting by large sit-on mowers/tractor mowers that bump against unprotected lower trunks of young trees; use of the park for parking heavy equipment).

Robin Hide


Nick Payne wrote:
I noticed a few days ago that TAMS have started chopping down trees on the median strip of Captain Cook Crescent near Manuka. In the past couple of weeks, in just the three blocks of Captain Cook Crescent between Stuart Street and Barallier Street, I have seen Eastern and Crimson Rosellas entering nesting hollows in two of the trees on the median strip. If TAMS feel it is necessary to remove these trees, they should not be doing it while native birds may be using the nesting hollows in the trees. I've put in feedback on the ACT Government web site suggesting this. If they get more feedback along the same lines from other people as well, more notice may be taken.


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the Canberra Ornithologists Group mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the list contact David McDonald, list manager, phone (02) 6231 8904 or email . If you can not contact David McDonald e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU