Recently, a reader wrote to us and informed the editorial office that a few days earlier “a beautiful, old willow tree in front of the Piarist school was cut down.”
And she noted:
The tree was not pruned, nor were the old, broken branches removed; instead, it was cut down “to the stump.” Of course, everything certainly took place in accordance with the applicable regulations and with the consent of the relevant authorities. I am only wondering how Bolesławiec City Hall issues permits to cut down old trees “with a light hand.” A few years ago, an entire side of the main avenue at the municipal cemetery was cut down. Did all the trees really pose a threat to people’s safety? Judging by the stumps left after the trees were cut down, not all of them probably needed to be completely removed. The same applies to last year’s felling of trees near the closed cemetery on Lubańska Street. This time, they supposedly threatened the crumbling cemetery wall. What is more important—centuries-old trees providing oxygen to a city where exhaust fumes are becoming increasingly noticeable, or a wall that will probably fall apart in a few years because the adjacent road is becoming increasingly heavily trafficked?
The reader suggested that perhaps “someone truly competent” should assess whether these actions were really so necessary. She added:
Neither I, nor my children, nor the current fauna inhabiting the old trees will benefit from the stumps to which people providing explanations in such cases always refer.
We asked Bolesławiec City Hall about the matter. We will publish the response when we receive it.