Dear Editor,
On Friday, I bore witness to the initiation of what I’ve only heard rumours of – the destruction of one of Georgetown’s largest living monuments – the silk-cotton tree that resides within the compound of Carnegie School of Home Economics.
At this point, only a few of the tree’s main branches have been hacked off by the ill-equipped workers who were hired to destroy the tree. With no safety equipment, two men climbed the tree which towers above most of the buildings in Georgetown, and can be seen for more than a mile away in every direction, and began hacking away at the magnificent structure with a chainsaw. Other workers below, held straps attached to the branches in a futile attempt to guide the falling branches in a particular direction.
As the first giant branch fell, it crashed to the pavement, obliterating one of the guard rails used by the visually impaired to guide them towards the Blind Institute. It was clear that these men were not professionals, and had no business doing this type of job, but there’s a more important issue at hand here. The removal of this tree does not only affect the aesthetics of the entire area, the lives of animals that depend on the tree for nesting, shelter, and food, but, considering the sheer size of the tree, destroying it will affect the role it plays in improving the air quality in this area.
Why are we, in this era of climate awareness, not finding alternatives to cutting down more trees?
I hope this letter reaches the relevant authorities and we can find a way to keep this tree standing for generations to come. Let’s keep what’s left of the natural environment in Georgetown safe from further destruction. Maybe saving one tree is the step we need to move towards creating a real garden-city, and a true green state.
Yours faithfully,
Darrell Carpenay
