The Beagle Editor,
Remnant, endangered Bangalay Sand forest in Broulee was butchered today, including parts that were within community zoned land.
I watched the bulldozers pile up the dead limbs into pyres, the graceful and ancient gums now laying wasted and limp.
These trees, that were homes to many creatures, we’re senselessly cleared to make way for the expanding human habitat in these parts.
I feel so weary and sad - after everything we have lost in the black summer fires, we just go on like nothing happened. Business as usual.
We moved to this area of Australia because of its natural beauty and the availability of housing that was integrated into the natural environment around.
Is this what we can now expect? Vast clearing of land with not a tree in sight, houses packed in like sardines, only to swelter in the ever increasingly hot summers.
Trees are vital to our health - the provide shade and cooling, they filter the air we breathe and stabilise the soil we walk on. Having trees within developments increases liveability and well-being of the residents and as an added bonus increases property value.
We’ve seen enough destruction to last a lifetime when we suffered through the Black Summer bushfires. This type of violence against nature, under the guise of progress, is truly regressive.
Now is the time to have a serious conversation about ecologically sensitive and balanced development in our shire. We can and must do better than this.
For our sake and our children’s sake. Dr Michelle Hamrosi
