Here is the good news: The poui tree that we were grieving over still lives. It is much smaller, but has not been completely cut down, after all.
“Chopped down” can mean lots of things, and in this case, the phrase got completely lost in translation and misunderstanding – for which I humbly apologize to our neighbours.
Yes, the tree was “chopped” – but only trimmed. It is not dead. Yes, the space where we enjoyed the parrots feeding in its upper branches is gone. But we hope that it will grow back, and bloom again, before too long.
I have written before about the continued deforestation of our neighborhood – and, in fact, the whole of Kingston. I understand that the new plan for three million trees will include an urban forestry plan. I cannot wait to hear more details about this aspect of it. I hope it will include lovely native trees like the poui.
My point is, we need more trees. Simple as that. Our neighborhood is the poorer for losing many trees to the ubiquitous townhouse complexes. We have often spoken in our Neighbourhood Association about “Livable Communities.”
My sadness for the poui tree was against this background. I love trees more than concrete – even though the latter is necessary.
So, I apologize to our neighbors profoundly – but I am not apologizing for my general concerns over the deforestation of Kingston. Let’s hope we can turn it all around, soon.
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