Trees don’t often hit the news. We pay scant attention to these oxygen giving, living, blooming, wooden angels that line our streets, populate our excellent woodlands and seasonally give us conkers to play with.
What heart-warming joy, then, to hear about Londoners who care.
First up, Richmond arborphile, Phil Davison, who kicked up fuss when he thought that builders had poured concrete over the base and roots of one of London’s official "Great Trees". Horrified, he reported the incident to the council, branding the attack on the 200ft tall riverside plane tree "an environmental disaster".
Fortunately, Phil’s zealous eco-anxiety was calmed by the official report that the tree, the subject of a preservation order, was unharmed and the substance a tree-friendly porous aggregate.
Meanwhile, up north, urban warrior Sergeant Suzy Rosser has deployed mounted police protection in Bentley Priory Open Space, Stanmore to dissuade the local marauding youths from vandalising and spray painting a 450 year old oak tree – the second oldest in the UK.
Rumours she’s got Special Branch on the case are yet to be confirmed.
Check out the 41 Great Trees of London here or or join the London Tree-athalon.
Image of plane tree bark courtesy of Ben Lawson's Flickrstream
