Following on from the debacle in Falmouth just recently, regarding its councils intent to chop down three mature Lime trees, and then failing because they could not produce the report that apparently condemned them, because there was no such report, I emailed the Police to ask them if they could perhaps look into Plymouth City Councils report condemning the Monterey Pine. Just in case this report does not exist either.

The response from the Police was that they were unable to look into this as it was beyond their remit, which surprises me because it was not beyond their remit in Falmouth.

At their suggestion though, I have now emailed my local Councillor, Councillor Bill Stevens, to ask him to look into this matter himself. Councillor Stevens though has a connection to the same people whose remit it was beyond to look into this further, namely, Devon and Cornwall Police, whilst the other Councillors dealing with the area of Devonport, have strong links to the Friends of Devonport Park, whom are seemingly supportive of the tree being cut down, and perhaps even partially responsible for the request for it to happen.

Obviously, this does not bode too well for the Monterey Pine, which is still scheduled for destruction at the end of April, despite its foliage now somewhat sadly blooming in anticipation of the coming spring and summer. 

Interestingly, a number of people have remarked to me that there are Bees coming and going through small holes in the cut planes of the removed limbs, and they are regarding this as a bad thing, which it is not. 

Bees nesting inside tree hollows are actually beneficial not just to the tree, but to the surrounding environment also through pollination. When Bees build nests inside tree cavities like this, they actually protect the tree from further decay by using a substance called Propolis to line their nests, which is both antifungal and antibacterial and which kills off any spread of diseased and fungal areas.

So, to reiterate, this tree is far from dead, having just 27% of disease in its main body and 65% solid living wood, as confirmed in the alleged report. The remaining 8% is a hollowed area, which is not at all uncommon in old trees, as both birds and animals create them to live in without harming the tree in any way whatsoever. 

It is a tragedy that the small minds of those tasked with looking after our environment cannot see beyond these facts, and that they are still insisting that this tree must be felled, just in case a branch falls in a high wind. It deserves to live, just as it has done for over 200 years and through two world wars without falling. 

Please continue to share the petition as much as you can. This will likely be our only chance now to save this impressive old stalwart of the park.

Thank you in advance....