NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING
I AM TRULY BLESSED TO HAVE BEEN GRACIOUSLY, GENEROUSLY INVITED BY A GOOD FRIEND TO LIVE AS A GUEST IN THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE HOME OUTSIDE OF NASHVILLE even as the wholesale destruction of our quality of life and some of the property at my condo continues to be bulldozed, jackhammered and blasted almost out of existence.
We have a boundary dispute with our next-door neighbors at Abe's Garden which is now beginning to wind its way---shepherded by the very finest of lawyers---through the legal process, so I will keep my focus on real, indigenous tree stands, why they are so vitally important to the quality-of-life in a city like Nashville and why the loss of such a stand as ours presents almost irreparable damage to us, our land and the surrounding environment on which it stood.
Here in no specific order is a list of things our native trees accomplish for us:
1) TREE STANDS RETAIN SOIL MOISTURE, PREVENTING DESERTIFICATION
If a photo is worth a thousand words, then I rest my case with the photo below taken yesterday along the edge of our disputed land. Last year our boundary trees gave shade and moisture to our yard. The fecundity of our soil was world class. This year, the soil is drying out, parched and drawn and it's just May. Indeed without the big trees we've lost, our land is going through a mini-climate change quickly, before our very eyes. All soil needs a mixture of sun and shade and without it, it's like living in a convection oven.
Below, our once succulent lawn and grass is now drying up. It's like a mini dust bowl in our own back yard, and it's just May:
If you've lived with a beautiful, functional stand of old-growth trees as wind break that are suddenly mowed down by monster CATS , you quickly experience a new level of harsh wind and weather which were formerly shielded and softened by those big trees. BTW, stands of trees are much more effective any single large tree for accomplishing this wind breaking. Often what happens when a single big tree is left by itself, as trees around it are taken down, is that the wind eventually and effectively topples and unearths it sooner or later.
3) TREES CREATE SOIL STABILITY IN A WOODLAND THAT SLOWS WATER RUNOFF, SOIL EROSION AND HELPS PREVENT OR MITIGATE FLASH FLOODING
One of the most, if not THE most important benefit of a stand of trees in the city such as we had, is to protect soil stability and lessen soil erosion and flash flooding. Now that most of our boundary trees have been destroyed, we will no longer have this stability and the riparian lands downstream of us will flood more quickly, for longer and with greater destruction. This true in the country, but especially urgent in the city that has increasing areas of pavement, concrete and development that speeds up runoff and flooding.
4) TREE STANDS PROVIDE WONDERFUL URBAN WILDLIFE HABITAT
One of the things most over-looked when old to medium growth tree stands are mowed down is the loss of the treasure of wildlife habitat in the city.
We've fed and enjoyed watching all kinds of wildlife here over the years including squirrels, chipmunks, little foxes, wild turkeys and all manner of birds and songbirds. No, it's not Jackson Hole with moose, grizzlies and elk often in our backyards, but it's still been a joy to share our boundary woodland and live in harmony with nature with all these little critters. We are grieving their loss and ours.
5) TREES SOFTEN NOISE IN THE CITY AND GREATLY CONTRIBUTE TO QUIET ENJOYMENT AND PRIVACY
What more can be added to this. Noise now vibrates at unheard levels....and the loss of trees and the soft sounds of the wind only magnifies the blasting, jackhammering and general noises at the construction site.
6) TREES CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVED AIR QUALITY AS THE LEAVES IN SUMMER ACT AS AN AIR FILTRATION SYSTEM, CUTTING DOWN ON DUST AND EXPLODED ROCK GOING EVERYWHERE.
I can tell you the air quality of our neighborhood with the loss of our wonderful woodland is unbearable at times. With respiratory issues since birth, I can no longer live in my condo, with the ongoing, diminished air quality. Even though I am affected in a more obvious way, everyone suffers when trees can no longer act as natures own air filtration system, especially in a big city. Anyone who thinks that mowing down these kinds of trees and tree stands is OK and can be mitigated by the planting of ornamentals is not living in the real world.
And wouldn't you know, the very people who think they can mitigate destroying big tree stands by easily planting fast-growing ornamentals are the very people who admonish everyone else about reducing our carbon footprints.
Below is our neighbors new wildlife species.
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