EDITOR – All is well with my soul. I am at peace while having my mid-morning cup of tea, when a raucous noise shatters the quiet of our street.
I realise it is the sound of a chainsaw. As I look, I witness the massacre of a giant tree.
It took all-day to brow-beat that 50-plus-year-old to the ground. It crashed in stages, limb by limb. My heart crashed with it. I went closer that evening, just to see. It seemed to me, like a living thing, mutilated – jagged limbs – skin hanging in strips – lifeblood dripping. My heart was crushed as I thought of all the trees which have been felled on the Bluff alone recently. When enquiring of various people why ? The reasons vary, from ‘too many messy leaves’, ‘a spoilt view’, ‘they harbour snakes, spiders, ants and encourage monkeys’.
The bottom line is that cutting it down, served as a tidy (less work) garden, and a meal ticket for the workers. Many of the trees cut down were indigenous to our country.
Pruning and trimming are acceptable and do not harm the tree. But let us think of our health, the leaves once provided oxygen and now could be compost. The tree provided habitation for birds, bats, lizards and insects and fruits as food for monkeys.
The tree that I watched tumble may hopefully sprout again. In the meantime, a whole colony of living creatures are homeless and must move on elsewhere.
Ah well, one day God’s purpose will become apparent to us.
ALICE RUST
Bluff
