Angela Davis-Gardner: Raleigh needs to value older trees

Many thanks to Virginia Hudson for her moving Jan. 7 Point of View “In the City of Oaks, let’s talk about trees again” about the senseless destruction of trees at Brooks School, including the “Grandmother” tree.

Trees are being felled at an alarming rate all over Raleigh, including my neighborhood, from Grant Avenue to Ridge Road. Some 17 trees were taken from one lot. I had hopes that a stately oak on Grant would be spared, given that it was right at the property line. I asked the builder about the tree; He assured me it would remain. A few days later it was gone, leaving a hole in the sky.

Raleigh’s tree “ordinance” makes reference to the values of trees to human beings and to the earth, but there are no laws to protect trees. We need to do better than this, for the sake of our city and the people who live here.

Please ask City Council members to take up this issue while we still are a City of Oaks.

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Angela Davis-Gardner: Raleigh needs to value older trees."