Where does your loyalty lie?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

BOC=British Oxygen Company

 

I think people worry about trees too much, they will be here long after we are dead and/or departed from the Earth.

 

We only live for a very short period of time, if that pop is spoiling our view then fell it!!!!

 

I agree that trees will outlast us, I have no objections with felling an unsuitable tree, or a tree that is a liability, or one that has simply outgrown its place in the urban scheme.

 

What I object to is a blatant disregard and empathy for the tree, from making the decision to carrying out the final decision. Our interactions with trees display (as a society/race/western) a very poor relationship with the natural world, which is reflected most in our relationships with trees.

 

Do we worry about trees too much? do we B..ll...x! I see no evidence for the this level of concern you describe, every tree I see that is forced to live in the shadow of man is stressed/wounded/contained/abused.

 

So NO... we do not worry about trees too much, we dont worry about trees at all, we worry about the mess they make, the threat they pose and its long overdue that this un-natural standpoint was addressed and society is in desperate need of a re connection/re awakening to the majesty of the natural world.

 

It is to be revered not feared, loved not banished.

[Andy Collins]

I havent voted on this poll, as there isnt a category for me!

Where does your loyalty lie? = Earning money from tree work

First and foremost, I do this job/career/vocation in order to make a living in an environment I enjoy. I do what I believe is right for the clients trees, balancing what the client requires with what the tree needs to survive. Maybe thats not ideal or perfect in some opinions, but thats just me. By all means save a dead stump occasionally, but we also need to consider the future, by removing and re-planting, a dead tree cant reproduce.

Though I know I sound like a tree mercenary, I've probably planted more trees in a season than I fell in a year, and these are to extend ancient woodlands to create buffer zones between the needs of agriculture and the needs of woodlands. I also plant many trees for ornamental reasons, these will come on to replace failing old vets in time, they will enable inverts to carry on their life cycles and so on.

Deep down I do care for trees and the environment, but I do have to earn a living in the meantime, and in the way I think I can make a small difference.

[MattyF]

I do not think I have influenced a decision or any others have, we offer a service ...people use it ..... To be called ignorant I find highly offensive, basically you can't stop people from doing what they want to do with there land and what grows in it , yes you can try hard to influence a decision but not every one is going to listen , I have felled 3 of my favourite tree's this year , ones I have worked on and talked clients out of felling for years, but the client made the decision they got the planning and they got other quotes!and in one case some very bad advice imo ! But again I am in the business of tree work and I would rather have the guts to put a friend out of there misery than let a stranger do it is how I feel about it....

[Stephen Blair]

so Tony in your eyes if 2 folk felled a tree each that was dangerous. 1 guy burst out crying and 1 guy shouted yeehaa!!!

I take it the latter was the ignorant guy with no empathy?

To me it doesnt matter, the final result is the tree on the deck.

[Mark Bolam]

I do not think I have influenced a decision or any others have, we offer a service ...people use it ..... To be called ignorant I find highly offensive, basically you can't stop people from doing what they want to do with there land and what grows in it , yes you can try hard to influence a decision but not every one is going to listen , I have felled 3 of my favourite tree's this year , ones I have worked on and talked clients out of felling for years, but the client made the decision they got the planning and they got other quotes!and in one case some very bad advice imo ! But again I am in the business of tree work and I would rather have the guts to put a friend out of there misery than let a stranger do it is how I feel about it....

 

Pretty much sums it up for me Matty.

 

I fell some trees, I talk some people out of having trees 'topped' or felled.

 

I sleep OK at night.

[Rob D]

I feel trees are there to be enjoyed both alive and dead, felled, re planted, milled and used - just a big cycle.

 

I think we are very good at protecting trees in this country.

 

I also think that Tony's (hamadryad) views and opinions border on the fanatical and actually undermine tree protection. If you were serious about valuing and protecting trees you would compromise what you feel is right in the ideal world to what is practical in the real world.

 

That's not a personal attack or rebuke as Tony obviously has outstanding knowledge but just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I feel trees are there to be enjoyed both alive and dead, felled, re planted, milled and used - just a big cycle.

 

I think we are very good at protecting trees in this country.

 

I also think that Tony's (hamadryad) views and opinions border on the fanatical and actually undermine tree protection. If you were serious about valuing and protecting trees you would compromise what you feel is right in the ideal world to what is practical in the real world.

 

That's not a personal attack or rebuke as Tony obviously has outstanding knowledge but just my opinion.

 

 

fanatic, mmm NOPE, far from it.

 

I merely try to be a voice on another plain, to be a lonely voice in a room of gun ho felling threads where folk talk about the size of their bar as though it was a penis

 

Felling is an important part of what WE do, you lot forget I am an arb too, but felling is ALWAYS the last resort/option discussed, and the more decrepit the tree the more empathy is required in that process.

[Mark Bolam]

Do you not think that the key factor lies in educating the public Tony?

 

It might be some weird Kentish thing, but I'm getting sick of people saying things like ' I've got a tree that needs the top taking out of it' or ' My trees need a damn good pruning'.

 

Where are they getting this 'information'?

[skyhuck]

Do you not think that the key factor lies in educating the public Tony?

 

It might be some weird Kentish thing, but I'm getting sick of people saying things like ' I've got a tree that needs the top taking out of it' or ' My trees need a damn good pruning'.Where are they getting this 'information'?

 

They are talking about their needs, not the tree's.

 

We are a service industry and provide a service to the customer not the tree.

 

Thats life, as a tree cutter.

 

Trees don't need us, never have, never will!!!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Do you not think that the key factor lies in educating the public Tony?

 

It might be some weird Kentish thing, but I'm getting sick of people saying things like ' I've got a tree that needs the top taking out of it' or ' My trees need a damn good pruning'.

 

Where are they getting this 'information'?

 

I have no idea Mark, I think its just mans need to express his control over nature, to be the dominant force over his domain. The irony is millions of people flock to National trust sites each year and picnic under mature often veteren trees and say " its such a beautiful spot here isnt it, i wish we could afford to live in the country!!":001_huh: