THE VULNERABILITY OF AN ANCIENT LANDSCAPE © Some people say that they compensate for cutting down trees by planting others. It's a language trick. A large old tree is a completely different sort of creature from a small tree. We should have a different word for a tree when it's large and old, as the Aboriginals did. A mass of tree seedlings forms only a “carpet” of green, but a single large old tree is a huge building in our landscape. Like a caterpillar turning into something quite different - a butterfly - a large old tree spends several centuries in its 'cocoon', gradually evolving into a different creature. Large old trees have a huge, convoluted, living surface area attached to one trunk. The trunks are stiff, and broad, so they give shelter from the wind, rain and the sun. And they are massive, so they help stabilise the temperature and humidity. Tall, so their lived-in branches and their well-insulated hollows are a long way above a hunter, a grass fire or a flood. You could plant a million seedlings and not compensate for the chopping down of an ancient tree. As they bend around each injury, our Red Gum monuments show us how accommodating anything has to be to endure and become a living antiquity. A lot of things in our museums are not as old as these ancient trees. A casual observer might think there are plenty of large old trees in the landscape. Those remaining are a tiny fraction of their abundance 230 years ago, and our hollow-dependent animals and nesting birds are disappearing, as a result. 1 Through removal of the large old trees that remain, the yearly graduation of trees into the group of very old trees is dramatically shrinks. Around 90% of what once stood has gone. And the oldest trees standing are younger than the oldest trees of 1788. Greater consideration for our enduring elders could steer us away from the precipice. Sadness about ancientness razed is warning us about our soul-less plan to deepen our debt with nature and so with each other. Currently, about 90 large old trees, including half a dozen large Red Gums, are unnecessarily under threat near Ararat. Victoria is the most cleared state in Australia. If engineers can be encouraged to treat each large old tree with the reverence they give their own headquarters, we could begin integrating our engineering with the landscape. Letting the Planning Minister know that you think highway design should be more shaped by natural limits, like ‘No Go Zones’ around large old trees, will improve the trees' chances of survival. © for comment and further information call Gillian Trebilcock 03 53 48 7808 or email gillypopsdarling1@gmail.com