Thank you for continuing to hit hard on this! I posted the other day that we left up two snags in our small yard. A family of Red-headed woodpeckers made a nest in one. I can see their little heads peeping out during the day. But it is my family's pet peeve that trees come down. They come down all over our neighborhood, which dates to around the late 19-teens. Some of the trees are decades old and still perfectly healthy. We walked by a stump this morning - a tree that had been perfectly healthy. My son wanted to cry. He gets infuriated with this. I hope he goes on to use that fury in the way Basil has.
Thanks for sharing Basil's story. We need more people like him in the world! It reminds me of something you've written before--that many people's jobs can have a climate angle/effect if you choose to make it so.
This resonates with me so much. Thanks for sharing it! I'm glad to see this type of landscaping theory is being shared to make it more mainstream. We have a lot of trees in our yard and got hit by a big storm last summer that took down many. But we have many that are still standing as snags. We have so many people ask about when we're going to "clean it all up." While I loved it when it was a fuller forest of trees, it's still a very active and busy wildlife space now. We see so many woodpeckers! We consulted with some conservation professionals and they reiterated how much many of the animals in our area appreciate the space now because there are so few spaces that are "messy" with trees and vegetation in their "second phase of life." So for now, we're leaving most of it and slowly cleaning it up and replacing with more native plants over time (including some oak trees i grew from acorns I picked up along the side of a parking lot last year). Nature is pretty incredible when he let it works it's magic.
Your yard sounds like my kind of place. It is SO hard to strike a balance between supporting wildlife and not upsetting the neighborhood with your "messy" yard.
Married to a professional arborist who is the son of a forestry professor, so we are all trees all the time over here. I'm so grateful for their knowledge about trees, pruning, etc. because I do think it leads to saving so many more trees (AND tough conversations about grass! Quit trying to grow it under all that canopy!) BUT I also know many people, including many of our neighbors are shocked by the price of using a highly qualified arborist with a college degree. They are often looking for the cheapest option, and I think that leads to so much tree butchering, not wise thoughtful pruning. So we can add arborist to the undervalued professions around here!
Thanks for the snippet about the trees. That was truly fascinating. When my older sister and I lived together in a condo, I remember the day a service came in and cut down what seemed like a crap-ton of trees. One of which was right downstairs from our condo. My first and only thought, really, was "OMG, what about the bird nests?!" Needless to say, it was pretty quiet--and shadeless--around there. We were told the trees were causing structural damage around the buildings (ie buckled sidewalks).
This is a great write up about the need for our trees, especially in our urban landscapes. That house looks so forlorn without any vegetation around it! I live surrounded by trees in my South Carolina suburban house and I’m so grateful for all the shade, especially with the ever increasing summer heat.
Thank you for continuing to hit hard on this! I posted the other day that we left up two snags in our small yard. A family of Red-headed woodpeckers made a nest in one. I can see their little heads peeping out during the day. But it is my family's pet peeve that trees come down. They come down all over our neighborhood, which dates to around the late 19-teens. Some of the trees are decades old and still perfectly healthy. We walked by a stump this morning - a tree that had been perfectly healthy. My son wanted to cry. He gets infuriated with this. I hope he goes on to use that fury in the way Basil has.
May I point you to this excellent newsletter that also came out today: https://thenewurbanorder.substack.com/p/the-antidote-to-helplessness-is-your
Maybe your son would like to plant some trees somewhere locally?
Thanks for sharing Basil's story. We need more people like him in the world! It reminds me of something you've written before--that many people's jobs can have a climate angle/effect if you choose to make it so.
You know, I really should have made that the concluding sentence: Maybe I'll go back and fix it.
This resonates with me so much. Thanks for sharing it! I'm glad to see this type of landscaping theory is being shared to make it more mainstream. We have a lot of trees in our yard and got hit by a big storm last summer that took down many. But we have many that are still standing as snags. We have so many people ask about when we're going to "clean it all up." While I loved it when it was a fuller forest of trees, it's still a very active and busy wildlife space now. We see so many woodpeckers! We consulted with some conservation professionals and they reiterated how much many of the animals in our area appreciate the space now because there are so few spaces that are "messy" with trees and vegetation in their "second phase of life." So for now, we're leaving most of it and slowly cleaning it up and replacing with more native plants over time (including some oak trees i grew from acorns I picked up along the side of a parking lot last year). Nature is pretty incredible when he let it works it's magic.
Your yard sounds like my kind of place. It is SO hard to strike a balance between supporting wildlife and not upsetting the neighborhood with your "messy" yard.
Married to a professional arborist who is the son of a forestry professor, so we are all trees all the time over here. I'm so grateful for their knowledge about trees, pruning, etc. because I do think it leads to saving so many more trees (AND tough conversations about grass! Quit trying to grow it under all that canopy!) BUT I also know many people, including many of our neighbors are shocked by the price of using a highly qualified arborist with a college degree. They are often looking for the cheapest option, and I think that leads to so much tree butchering, not wise thoughtful pruning. So we can add arborist to the undervalued professions around here!
This is such a good point: Thank you for making it.
Thanks for the snippet about the trees. That was truly fascinating. When my older sister and I lived together in a condo, I remember the day a service came in and cut down what seemed like a crap-ton of trees. One of which was right downstairs from our condo. My first and only thought, really, was "OMG, what about the bird nests?!" Needless to say, it was pretty quiet--and shadeless--around there. We were told the trees were causing structural damage around the buildings (ie buckled sidewalks).
There's a kid's book about animals having to move because their tree is getting cut down called A Kiss Goodbye that basically tells that story.
That sounds very Shel Silverstein-ish. LOL
this was beautiful :')
Thank you: I love Basil's writing about trees.
Wonderful!! Does he explain what to do if a tree’s roots are interfering with plumbing? :)
YES, he does, but it was too long to include every scenario in the newsletter!
This is a great write up about the need for our trees, especially in our urban landscapes. That house looks so forlorn without any vegetation around it! I live surrounded by trees in my South Carolina suburban house and I’m so grateful for all the shade, especially with the ever increasing summer heat.
Shade trees make such a difference in the summer!
I love this!!!
I loved the article about the “found” ceiling.