THE lack of tree trimming and pruning services from the eThekwini Municipality in the Durban North area has been an ongoing issue for about 20 years, says Ward 36 councillor, Heinz de Boer.

The area has always been green and leafy, with numerous trees planted by the City and private individuals too, however many of them are old and have reached their life span.

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Last week following the heavy rain, there were about five reports of trees that had fallen over.
Brown’s Drift Road in Umgeni Park had to be closed for a few hours while a tree was cut up and removed.

De Boer oversaw the process and learnt that the City needs new equipment and vehicles.

“The Parks Department responded and spent almost an entire day removing the tree but it was evident that they are using old equipment which are tired and broken. The crane on the truck is leaking hydraulic fluid. If this was sent in for repairs, it would take a long time to fix and the problem would worsen,” he added.

He had put in a request to the City for additional capital budget to purchase equipment and operational budget to get more teams to trim and cut trees.

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“This is an issue I will continue to drive. It has been ongoing for more than 20 years. There’s never been enough staff and equipment and we can’t carry on like this. Our neighbourhoods have potential to look amazing. Also, the last thing we need is for someone to be injured or killed by a falling branch. The overgrown trees are also posing a danger to powerlines and street lights,” he said.

In some cases, property owners sometimes take it upon themselves to trim and cut trees that are posing a threat.
Chairperson for Wildlife and Environment Society South Africa (WESSA), Margaret Burger, said trees and green spaces are critical for human survival but also for the species that make up the diversity in cities.

“Established ancient trees such as the remnants of coastal bush in Durban North are part of our local sense of place; as well as part of the Durban Metropolitan open space system known as D’MOSS. These decades and possibly century old tree species are home, shelter and sustenance, to so many different non-human species that we cannot begin to understand how removal or destruction of these ancient species impact the biodiversity that we so desperately need in the era of climate change,” she said.

“Where we are planting trees it is so critical to think of appropriate species for that particular space. Plant local and select with what you would like to see in place in 10 to 20 years’ time,” added Burger.

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