My Account
The removal of five mature liquidambar trees from the front of Whangaparaoa Primary School during the school holidays, on April 18, resulted in a number of distressed calls to Hibiscus Matters as the chainsaws roared in the background.
The school apparently removed the trees fearing health and safety issues from falling limbs. This had occurred from time to time in storms. An arborist’s report commissioned by the school (HM March 15) said that recent amendments to health and safety legislation were an important factor when deciding the trees’ fate, despite their visual value to the nearby streetscape.
The report made no mention of damage or injuries caused by the trees, although it said there had been near misses.
The trees were on the Ladies Mile side of the school and many people contacted the paper after reading our story on March 15, saying the trees would be missed as part of the local environment.
One caller to the paper, who lives nearby and watched the trees being felled, said that the school should be ashamed.
“Removing perfectly healthy, beautiful trees for absolutely no reason is shameful,” she said. “It made my blood boil to see such blatant vandalism.”
