A young mom was visiting Royal City Park with her son, where 52 trees deemed to be unsafe by the City of Guelph are being removed.  She sent this sensitive account to GUFF, and gave us permission to publish it.

My son thought that the signs on the trees were because people were saying that they were cool trees and this one (pictured) had a built-in fort (the big one that has 3 trunks all together.)

I read the sign to him, and said that the ribbons were there because these trees were going to be cut down.

He said, “Why are they going to cut them down?”

I responded, “Because they are old.”

And his profound kid response was, “Why don’t they just let them fall down?”

I smiled, at how amazing it was that a 6 year old could be so smart, and then was sad.

Sometimes the answers are so clear, but then the world puts it all upside down.

Guelph Urban Forest Friends have long been advocating for our urban trees, including a stronger protective tree bylaw and a separate urban forestry department with a certified forester to more effectively manage tree maintenance and coordinate public education on the value of our mature trees.

If you feel strongly about this issue, please contact Mayor and Council. Please help us try and stop the tree removal in Royal City Park from happening elsewhere in the city.

Contacting Guelph City Council

Mayor Farbridge: mayor@guelph.ca

Ward 1: Bob Bell bob.bell@guelph.ca, Kathleen Farrelly kathleen.farrelly@guelph.ca
Ward 2: Vicki Beard vicki.beard@guelph.ca, Ian Findlay ian.findlay@guelph.ca
Ward 3: Maggie Laidlaw maggie.laidlaw@guelph.ca, June Hofland june.hofland@guelph.ca
Ward 4: Gloria Kovach gloria.kovach@guelph.ca, Mike Salisbury mike.salisbury@guelph.ca
Ward 5: Lise Burcher lise.burcher@guelph.ca, Leanne Piper leanne.piper@guelph.ca
Ward 6: Christine Billings christine.billings@guelph.ca, Karl Wettstein karl.wettstein@guelph.ca

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