A petition has been created on Care2’s international petition site to stop the ritual, brutal pruning of trees and their removal from urban areas. The Malta Independent on Sunday columnist Pamela Hansen tells Erika Brincat why the petition was created...
It’s a given undisputed fact that trees in urban areas, on the streets that we live, have many benefits, yet we keep on removing trees from our streets, replacing them with potted plants or replanted far away from the streets where they can give more advantages. One of the reasons may be that these streets are being designed by architects and engineers professionals who, unlike landscape architects, may not be aware of the advantages of trees nor how to have a holistic approach to trees and streets. Trees CAN be planted on pavements and not obstruct or damage utilities.
Who started the FB Save
the Trees group and why?
I started the FB Save the Trees page because I was so upset and appalled to see trees disappearing all over the island, mainly in urban areas where they are sorely needed such as Valletta, Naxxar, Sliema, Rabat, Paola, Kalkara and Mellieha. They have also been chopping trees next to Neptunes in Sliema. I also felt that the pruning was excessive and disfiguring the trees.
How many members do you have?
There are currently 1,556 members, but you can see any updates by visiting the page www.facebook.com/groups/227850170644983/
Who created the petition and how many people have signed up so far?
I also started the petition, which has 755 signatures so far. Again you can check any updates by visiting the petition site www.thepetitionsite.com/629/494/052/save-maltas-trees/
What is the group trying to achieve?
I set the group up to raise awareness and to bring the authorities’ attention to the public’s strong feelings on the issue. The whole idea is to get the authorities to take notice and put a stop to the removal and destruction of trees.
Unfortunately, it seems there are many on the islands that do not understand the direct and indirect benefits we get from trees. Trees have been removed or hacked because of bird poo, leaves dirtying the place and other reasons.
Why are you trying to stop more trees from being uprooted or destroyed around the island?
Because they are not only aesthetically beautiful but provide oxygen, shade and act as noise mufflers. Plus they have a calming effect on an increasingly harassed population. RAI news recently dedicated a 10 full minutes to reminding the public of the protection of urban trees, echoing Swiss laws. Just when our Ministry of Environment abolished the law protecting trees, meaning that trees in urban areas, no matter how old, can now be destroyed, the Swiss and Italians were strengthening theirs, making it a crime to destroy any urban tree of a diameter of more than 20cm.
Following Mr Foppe Seekles’ incident, arborists and other professionals in the field came out stating that pruning should be more moderate and carried out in the cold season. At this point, environment NGO Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, which had been following developments with growing concern, decided it was necessary to set up a sub-committee highlighting the benefits trees in residential areas. Using the lessons learnt in lobbying for improvements in planning and permitting in Malta and Gozo, FAA aims to bring together the authorities, practitioners and the public to work on improved landscaping, planting and pruning of trees to promote a greener Malta that treasures its trees. Members of the public who are interested in enjoying the benefits of trees are invited to join the cause at www.faa.org.mt:http://www.faa.org.mt/become_a_member
Here are some benefits of urban street trees
1. Reduced and more appropriate urban
traffic speeds
Urban street trees create vertical walls framing streets, providing a defined edge, helping motorists guide their movement and assess their speed leading to overall speed reductions. Street safety comparisons show reductions of run-off-the-road crashes and overall crash severity when street tree sections are compared with equivalent treeless streets.
2. Reduced road rage
Although this may at first seem far-fetched, there is strong, compelling research that motorist road rage is less in green urban versus stark suburban areas. Trees and aesthetics, which are known to reduce blood pressure, may handle some of this calming effect.
3. Reduced blood
pressure, improved
overall emotional and
psychological health
People are impacted by ugly or attractive environments where they spend time. Kathlene Wolf, Social Science Ph.D. University of Washington, gave a presentation that said “the risk of treed streets was questionable compared to other types of accidents along with the increased benefit of trees on human behaviour, health, pavement longevity, etc.” She noted that trees have a calming and healing effect on ADHD adults and teens.
4. Create safer walking environments by forming and framing visual walls and providing distinct edges to sidewalks so that motorists better distinguish between their environment and one shared with people. If a motorist were to significantly err in their urban driving task, street trees help deflect or fully stop the motorist from taking a human life. Trees call for place-making planting strips and medians, which further separate motorists from one another, pedestrians, buildings and other urban fabric. This green area adds significantly to aesthetics and place-making. Urban areas with trees are safer than those without trees.
5. Rain, sun, heat and
skin protection
For light or moderate rains, pedestrians find less need for rain protection. In cities with good tree coverage there is less need for chemical sun blocking agents. Temperature differentials of 5 to 15 degrees are felt when walking under tree canopied streets. They also work as filter protection – as they soften and screen utility poles, light poles, on-street and off-street parking and other features creating visual pollution to the street.
6. Reduced harm from
tailpipe emissions
Automobile and truck exhaust is a major public health concern and contains significant pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM). Tailpipe emissions are adding to asthma, ozone and other health impacts. Impacts are reduced significantly from proximity to trees.
7. Increased security
Trees create more pleasant walking environments, bringing about increased walking, talking, pride, care of place, association and therefore actual ownership and surveillance of homes, blocks, neighbourhoods plazas, businesses and other civic spaces.
8. Improved business
Businesses on treescaped streets show 12 per cent higher income streams, which is often the essential competitive edge needed for main street store success, versus competition from plaza discount store prices.
9. Less drainage
infrastructure
Trees absorb the first 30 per cent of most precipitation through their leaf system, allowing evaporation back into the atmosphere. This moisture never hits the ground. Another percentage (up to 30 per cent) of precipitation is absorbed back into the ground and taken in and held onto by the root structure, then absorbed and then transpired back to the air. Some of this water also naturally percolates into the ground water and aquifer. Storm water runoff and flooding potential to urban properties is therefore reduced.
10. Gas transformation
efficiency
Trees in street proximity absorb nine times more pollutants than more distant trees, converting harmful gases back into oxygen and other useful and natural gases.
11. Lower urban
air temperatures
Asphalt and concrete streets and parking lots are known to increase urban temperatures by 3 to 7 degrees. These temperatures increase significantly impact energy costs to homeowners and consumers. A properly shaded neighbourhood, mostly from urban street trees, can reduce energy bills for a household from 15 to 35 per cent.
12. Lower ozone
Increases in urban street temperatures that hover directly above asphalt where tailpipe emissions occur, dramatically increase creation of harmful ozone and other gases into more noxious substances impacting the health of people, animals and surrounding agricultural lands.
13. Convert streets,
parking and walls into more aesthetically
pleasing environments
There are few street-making elements that do as much to soften wide, grey visual wastelands created by wide streets, parking lots and massive, but sometimes necessary blank walls than trees.
14. Soften and screen
necessary street features such as utility poles,
light poles and other
needed street furniture
Trees are highly effective at screening those other vertical features to roadways that are needed for many safety and functional reasons.
15. Time in travel
perception
Other research and observations confirm that motorists perceive the time it takes to get through treed versus non-treed environments has a significant differential. A treeless environment trip is perceived to be longer than one that is treed.
16. Improved operations
potential
When properly positioned and maintained, the backdrop of street trees allow those features that should be dominant to be better seen, such as vital traffic regulatory signs. The absence of a well developed greenscape allows the sickly grey mass of strip to dominate the visual world. At the same time, poorly placed signs, signals, or poorly maintained trees reduce this positive gain, and thus proper placement and maintenance must be rigidly adhered to.
17. Added value
to adjacent homes,
businesses and tax base
Realtor based estimates of street tree versus non-street tree comparable streets relate a great increase in home or business value. This often adds to the base tax base and operations budgets of a city allowing for added street maintenance. Future economic analysis may determine that this is a break-even for city maintenance budgets.
18. Longer pavement life
Studies show that the shade of urban street trees can add from 40 to 60 per cent more life to costly asphalt. This factor is based on reduced daily heating and cooling (expansion/contraction) of asphalt. As peak oil pricing increases roadway overlays, this will become a significant cost reduction to maintaining a more affordable roadway system.
Please visit the petition site and sign up to encourage the authorities to take the appropriate action and protect our trees from being removed or pruned excessively, as well as plant more trees in urban streets:
www.thepetitionsite.com/629/494/052/save-maltas-trees/