265 trees illegally felled in Sydney’s Castle Cove in one year

If you look at property listings in Sydney’s Lower North Shore, chances are the word ‘leafy’ will come up again and again to describe the area. Yes, this piece of prime real estate prides itself on its greenery, but a spate of illegal tree trimmings has alarmed residents.

You may remember that on beautiful Balmoral Beach, nine of Port Jackson’s huge fig trees along the waterfront were poisoned earlier this year. residents hope to get a better view of the beach. Luckily, the trees appear to have survived the vandalism.

In Castle Cove – another popular suburb where multi-million dollar mansions are surrounded by bush and overlooking the water – 265 trees were illegally destroyed last year alone, including native banksias and a 100-year-old Angophora. Although these crimes made headlines, local residents maintained an alarming silence.

Even after Willoughby council offered a $10,000 reward for anyone who could help catch the criminals, local residents avoided pointing fingers at their neighbors.

The lack of regulation means that illegal tree felling could become rampant. Customers wishing to destroy a tree can turn to any number of unregistered loppers who do the job quickly with poison or slowly with salt/chlorinated water. A sure sign of tree poisoning is that the leaves begin to turn unnaturally brown.

While tree vandalism carries fines of up to $3,000 for individuals and up to $6,000 for businesses, they are not much of a deterrent. Money doesn’t seem to matter when a tree blocks the view of the harbor. Residents appear to be including possible fines in the cost of repairing their homes. After all, a swimming pool or tennis court can significantly increase the value of their property.

Some nature-loving residents have joined Tree Watch, a vigilante group that communicates via WhatsApp and takes it upon themselves to report offenses to the council. However, the burden of proof and legal costs are high; More often than not, these cases are not contested.

Lane Cove Council is addressing this problem by building large banners to block views that were previously blocked by trees.. Willoughby Council, like other North Shore residents, has lobbied the NSW Government for tougher penalties for tree vandalism. They also invest in educating local residents about the value of trees.

Hopefully this will begin to sow the seeds of change.

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