242 Patrick Street, Hurstville NSW 2220

What is the true cost to our environment of removing a tree? Each tree and its value to local species of native animals needs to be taken into account. A tree in its lifetime is forage for perhaps thousands of animals, all the nectar feeding birds need our eucalypts. A tree takes many decades to be large enough for animals to use it as a nest/home, such as possums, gliders, birds. And it takes longer still for hollows to form. In terms of bird life coming into the area - the loss of millions of hectares of bushland on areas skirting around Sydney has likely brought more birds into suburban areas, there is greater demand for nesting sites. The needs of migrating, of temporary of refugee species needs to be considered carefully and in full.
There is the loss of shade and increasing temperatures as we lose canopy. We need to look at the heat island effect, too many trees are being removed, and it takes too long for the replanted ones to take their place as canopy and shade providers. The studies in Penrith and Parramatta show that the proportion of built environment to canopy has a significant impact on temperatures, and the removal of tree canopy could end up pushing temperatures beyond thresholds and lead to greater numbers of heat exhaustion and related illness/mortality.
The cost of tree removal is much greater than we imagine at first glance, and the true cost of losing our tree canopy is rising temperatures, less visual amenity, less oxygen production, and studies demonstrate a link between trees and green spaces and increased well-being, for a significant number the loss of tree is lowering our well-being and sense of enjoyment and sense of connection to place. The decision to remove a tree should not be made where any other possibility of remediation exists. We need to engineer to protect and save our trees. It takes a lifetime for one to grow this big, we cannot waste that in an instant.