Ash

It seems that events are catching up with the Ash trees in the park. 

The spread of Ash Dieback, and associated risks of falling limbs, puts pressure on the managers of urban, recreational green spaces to be more proactive in tackling the situation. I encountered a felling order notice (extra) and there were indications around the park that some trees had been taken down already. While I’m somewhat cynical about arboreal contractors pushing for aggressive management of perfectly healthy trees (e.g., what happened in Sheffield a few years back, and also I co-founded a group that successfully fought off the planned felling of scores of trees on the Lancaster University campus back in the early 90s (see section 9 on this link)* ), I am aware that I can get perhaps overly-sentimental about trees. 

I thought I should at least post a picture of a majestic, mature Ash before they disappear from the park completely.

* Also my favourite activist group acronym ever: LEAF: Lancaster Environmental Action Force!