Free Ash Trade

Free Ash Trade.

The Irish Forestry Services:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/

have three press releases on view on their site regarding Ash Die Back.

One was released on the 07 November 2012. http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/press/pressreleases/2012/november/title,67442,en.html

Another one on the 02 November 2012.

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/press/pressreleases/2012/november/title,67421,en.html

And another one on the 26th of October 2012. http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/press/pressreleases/2012/october/title,67308,en.html

Read them. They are written in the language of free trade and they use words like

“to minimize, to help reduce risk, a proportionate response” etc.

In these press releases Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Shane McEntee TD clearly states that

“The scientific advice is that the movement of ash timber is a possible pathway of infection” and “While I understand plants are the highest risk in terms of a pathway for the disease, wood is also a risk etc, etc. 

Yet he does not ban the importation of Ash wood or even consider it; even as a  temporary measure. He is quite prepared to run the risk of the appalling spread of this disease for the benefit of the tiny few who gain from such a trade in timber.

Here again is the good of the few being placed above the good of the many, here is an elected politician endangering the common good, that he was elected and promised to protect.

There are also no photos, no advice no information on this disease on this site despite claims to the contrary. Unlike in England, where it has been declared a national emergency it seem not to matter one whit here.

O'Connell Street Trees.

When Dublin City Council removed the wonderful Plane Trees, while renovating the street 10 years ago, they promised everyone that the trees would be replaced and replanted. This was the promise they gave. Now most of the trees that they planted then have either been removed or had died. This happens in silence. Across at College Green they have removed trees to facilitate gas pipe laying, trees are being removed to facilitate the new Luas line and, and, and. New plantings will not work so these trees will not be replaced.

How Did It Happen

How did it happen. Ask how this damaging diseases spread through Europe might have been curtailed and you’ll open up a can of worms that raises troubling questions about the nature of free trade and its potentially devastating consequences for national plant biosecurity. Prof Clive Brasier, the highly regarded British plant pathologist specialising in tree diseases, neatly summed up the dilemma by describing it as trade at any cost, arguing that the UK’s independent plant health controls have been sacrificed in the interests of EU membership. Pointing to the dramatic increases in the frequency of damaging plant pathogen importations over the past decade, he suggested that the UK is now in danger of losing much of its historic tree and forest heritage. His blunt conclusion was that the European plant security “door” is, quite simply, off its hinges.

Fionnuala Fallon Irish Times. Saturday, October 13, 2012.

http://www.monbiot.com/2012/10/29/what-were-you-thinking/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2012/oct/12/wildlife-ash-tree-die-back

Hedge Destruction.

If we were to take all our hedges and pull them together, they would make up our largest broad leaf forest, taking up as much room in our land perhaps as the Rain Forests do in other lands. We show concern at the destruction of them, yet we allow our government finance farmers to remove our hedges or reduce them to stumps, thus removing habitat, food supply, resting places, carbon sequestration and seasonal beauty too, if anyone bothered to notice. We are faced with looming climate chaos, the need to re-afforest our earth is paramount, yet in Ireland we do the opposite; we defoliate recklessly and needlessly, removing the green places we and other things so desperately need. 

Is there an answer why?
How they should be!

Bark Damage

Once when doing a tree survey in inner city Dublin in 2006 I was amazed to see that over 80% of the trees surveyed had severe bark damage. Upon looking further at trees all across Dublin I seen the same problem. Its a result of bad planting, bad pruning, bad tree care, lawn mover damage, and, and, and.
These wounds allow pathogens like fungal diseases to enter and the tree will weaken and die. The life cycle of these trees will be short indeed. It costs money to plant them, it will mean more and more trees will have to be planted to replace them. Look carefully at almost all trees 10 years old and less now and you will see these same problems; then please ask your local politicians why is this allowed to happen and to continue, as it will. Those in charge of tree care should be ashamed.

Phenology

I believe that Phenology was the main method of time recognition until recently.
The word is derived from old Greek and means "to show, to bring to light, to make appear".
Phenology is the study of appearances like flowering, fruiting, insect and bird births and of course the dates of bud burst and leaf fall. From earliest times to recently these have remained similar and were to be observed by all. At Samhain most life in the Northern Hemisphere appears to die; leaves, fruits and most if not all natural growth, so it was indeed a time of the dead. At Imbolc life begins to stir again and this is evident. The first lengthen of the days happens then. At Bealtaine life literally explodes and all growth accelerates and reaches its peak. At Lughnasa, all growth comes to fruition and tails off. Its the time when the earth produces abundance. Then it all dies again at Samhain. These are exact time of Phenology and may be the origins of the four old indigenous festivals.

   

Tara Trees

 Tara Ash

Fallen Leaf