I have written so much on trees in the city and it all seems to have fallen on deaf ears. As the hype of making Georgetown a ‘Green City’ continues, one 
can only watch speechlessly as the butchering of these trees progresses. The ‘Cutlass Butchers’ have little or no experience in trimming and balancing the trees. Last week, these butchers continued to hack many of the trees in the Brickdam area. While there was speculation that City Hall was responsible, this was promptly denied, although Stabroek News carried two articles in their January 7 and 8 editions.
However, last Friday morning, Jan 8, while they were hacking away at the trees again, public spirited citizen and Major General (rtd) Joe Singh, who is the Chairman of the Restoration and Beautification Committee had an interesting conversation with the contractor. It was confirmed that he had been contracted by City Hall to cut the trees. Lo and behold their basic tools were 3 cutlasses and 2 hooks. This is indeed very sad; they are not new to this, they have been doing this for a number of years. They have had many years to put themselves in order and be trained.
We have already lost a rare yellow Poui tree on Brickdam which was brutally chopped down and a yellow Flamboyant tree on South Road. How many more trees are we going to lose?
How in the world can we promote a greener and healthier Guyana when our trees are being brutalized, destroyed and left unsightly? Let us raise the awareness of how important these trees are to us and the city. Generations to come will thank you.
Until next week, Happy Gardening!
