George needs bigger canopy

Local environmental activist Monica Vaccaro of the Landmark Foundation has shared her concern regarding tree planting and management in George, calling for more careful development where existing trees are preserved rather than replaced with young trees as compensation, and for more trees in general to be planted to ensure that the city's tree canopy grows instead of dwindles.

- Alida de Beer

Reacting to the felling of a large old eucalyptus tree in a paved parking lot in Gloucester Avenue earlier this month, she said older trees provide exponentially more ecosystem services.

"They store more carbon and support esta-blished habitats. Losing mature trees when it can be prevented would be a serious environmental misstep," says Vaccaro.

She is concerned about a number of trees that should soon be lost to the expansion of an existing parking lot in George, for which the George Municipality (GM) has received an application. She says parking lots are mostly bare, hard surfaces and she calls for a more environmentally friendly approach.