No relief from tree chopping

By Casey Neill
KNOX residents are removing trees ‘willy-nilly’, according to councillor Mick Van de Vreede.
A report presented at the council’s 19 May meeting outlined current and potential ways to help reduce tree felling in the municipality.
Suggested additional measures included a new local law to protect trees on private land, grants and rate rebates, free trees and an education program.
Cr Van de Vreede said asked councillors to consider funding the initiatives in the mid-year budget review.
“Trees are coming down at an alarming rate,” he said.
He said the council needed to promote the benefits of trees and ways to care for them.
“Some people do not understand the value,” he said. “Trees are being removed for the wrong reasons.”
Cr Van de Vreede said the council also needed to ‘get serious’ about replacing trees.
It removes 700 trees from nature strips each year, but replaces just 200.
“We’re not even replacing the ones that we’re removing,” he said.
Chandler Ward’s Cr John Mortimore said new residents were drawn to Knox’s foothills location.
“They like the green leafy image of Knox, and they’re happy to knock down all the trees on their block so they can see it,” he said.
Taylor Ward Cr Darren Pearce said protecting trees would give Knox a competitive advantage in encouraging new residents to call the city home.
“We should be looking at a cut-down, replace policy,” he said.
Knox residents submitted more than 300 tree removal permit applications during 2007/08 – the fifth highest number from metropolitan Melbourne’s councils.
The report said applications generally resulted from inadequate maintenance, poor location, damage and poor species selection.
It said the council could save trees if people were better informed of appropriate species, planting locations and necessary maintenance.