EDITOR – Decades ago, Germany embarked on a system of planting appropriate trees along city streets to enable the trees to absorb the enormous carbon emissions of cars, thus providing better air quality for its citizens.
One canopy-sized tree does the work of 1 000 smaller ones of the same species, and so as a result they then banned the cutting down of big trees unless given special permission by the authorities. There was enormous value placed on trees.
Trees have an aura, a presence, and they provide us with shade, beauty, food, fuel, medicine, shelter and cleaner air, and many of our indigenous trees are drought-resistant. As Elsa Pooley mentions in her tree book, we have more than 750 species just in KwaZulu-Natal, Zululand, and Eastern Cape, 11 times more tree species than the whole of Europe. Sadly, so many are becoming threatened.
Our trees should be planted everywhere possible and the municipality should seek advice from the many gifted experts that live in upper Highway.
With global warming and our devastating drought it is a no-brainer.
Elaine Kool
Gillitts
