The magnificent elm on Alexandra Parade, west of Wellington St was felled due to a project by Melbourne Water to replace the cover of the Alexandra Parade storm water drain.

The elm is on Yarra’s Significant Tree Register, but that was not enough to save it. The tree was an outstanding specimen and also made a significant contribution to the landscape due to its prominent position. Large trees also trap deadly particulate pollution from diesel engines. It particles gets trapped in the leaves until they washed down in the rain. Better than getting trapped in your lungs.

In 1977 the Citizens Against Freeways set up a barricade on this reserve at Gold Street. They  successfully stopped the Eastern Freeway being extended west of Wellington St towards Carlton. 

In 2017 Melbourne Water started planning for a project to replace the deck over the main drain under Alexandra Parade, to allow heavy vehicles to drive over it safely.

During the planning stage, the 3068 Group advised Melbourne Water that the elm was of particular significance.  Melbourne Water advised in a bulletin that:

Trees along the median listed on the City of Yarra’s Significant Tree Register will be protected, although some pruning may be necessary. The project team has developed a construction methodology to minimize the works footprint and redesigned the deck near significant trees to reduce the number of trees removed. A qualified arborist will be on site and tree protection measures will be in place.

We were saddened to learn that due to a trench being dug one metre from the tree, the project’s arborist has advised that the tree is unstable and should be removed.

The 3068 Group requested an inspection by an independent arborist, John Galbraith to see if the tree could be saved.

Unfortunately, Mr. Galbraith’s advice was that the tree would be hard to stabilise and would deteriorate in any case due to the extensive root damage. The tree has also been lopped severely by the project. Mr. Galbraith’s advice was to replace the tree.

The 3068 Group has asked Melbourne Water that a possum guard be attached to the tree before it is felled so that any possums will self-relocate (we don’t know where as there are not that many trees left). We have also asked that a wildlife inspection be performed before and during the felling process to check for nests in the hollows. We also requested that the timber be salvaged for use in park benches. These requests have been accepted.

We also request that a specimen of the same species be planted in the same location, and a row of elms be planted along Alexandra Parade when the project has completed. Melbourne Water has provided a planting plan but won’t plant elms in the Alexandra Parade reserve. They have offered to purchase five elms, but they could end up anywhere in the City of Yarra, and probably not in Collingwood which has the least open space of any suburb in Melbourne.

We are still unclear how so much root damage could be inflicted on a significant tree during an ‘exploratory’ dig. The tree was not placed in a protected zone as is normal practice during building works. The arborist was only called after the damage was done.

Melbourne Water has been relatively transparent about the project and the loss of the tree. Looking at the final works, it would infringe on the drip line and root system of the tree even if best practices were followed. But questions remain, Like why they advised the tree would be safe, and why it did not have a protection zone.

The drain cover and stump of the old tree. June 11, 2018There are a number of significant trees on Alexandra Parade apart from this elm.  Melbourne Water has mapped them 170912-Alexandra-Parade-Main-Drain-bulletin-FINAL

Melbourne Water are also undertaking the M41 Merri Creek to MCG water main renewal. This project replaces a water main through Edinburgh Gardens and George Street Fitzroy. Both are sites of historic elms.

The maps released so far do not show the works in sufficient detail to assess what trees will be impacted. m41_community_feedback_summary.pdf 

We are losing significant trees throughout the city for many reasons. We just learned at a panel hearing that the entire Fitzroy Gas Works 4.6 hectare site is to be denuded of all trees so it can be decontaminated.

Another significant tree, a beautiful Box Elder, was felled in Gold Street opposite the primary school just two months ago, along with many others. If the State government and the developer had been open to changing their plans to incorporate the tree they could have saved it.

Yarra’s planning department gave a permit for a building to be built within the drip line of a significant elm on private land. The planning department says it ignores Yarra’s Significant tree register because it does not form part of the planning scheme!  The same department has also resisted any amendment to incorporate the register into the scheme, despite long efforts by some councilors. Getting a tree onto the register takes around a decade. Nominations get lost in the mail.

Last year, Darling Gardens lost the last remaining elm that was on the National Trust Register. The tree was struck by lightning and became unstable. The other registered elm was destroyed by a council path some decades ago.

Near Rushall Station, the management of the Old Colonists Society removed a large number of poplars. This distressed many of their residents. The trees were on private land but overhung the bike path. Close by, Yarra Council plans to remove mature trees on the Merri Creek escarpment for a new bike path.

Most of the world’s cities lost their mature elms to Dutch Elm Disease. Melbourne has a unique and extensive collection dating from the nineteenth century.

They need to be recognised to be protected.

Further reading in The Conversation: Smart city planning can preserve old trees and the wildlife that needs them.