When you look at the immediate area on Google Earth it seems a large tree is to be found south of the mill, and there is a braod spreading tree there...but it is not our Veteran, which due to the proximity of the Tweed Valley way has experienced dramatic canopy reductions over the years.
But enough of the Google Earth pics....
View along the Tweed Valley Way looking north,
View from the northwest of the tree looking south,
Very typical and beautiful liquid like flow manifest in the buttress roots of the tree,
Now a good friend of mine Ted Green admonished me for being too eager to climb into every bloomin tree I come across, and Ted is right that our enthusiasm to get close and personal with Veterans and Ancients has to be tempered by respect....but in my defence accomodating Angie was pleading for me to rest in her limbs...
I cannot honestly remember finding a fig with such a large bowl in its centre...althoug it looks like I am standing on the ground I am actually about 2.5m up in the Angie's centre.
Angie is already on the Tweed Valley Council's register of significant trees, and they have erected a coral of small timber bollards around her which is grand...
hopefully they might install some mulch more to avoid the incessant mower injuries than anything else...but of course the mulch would over time improve the soil and root environment which would I believe be a good thing.
The amazing cathedral like canopy is all the more impressive when you realise how much has been removed over the years....
Figs are the most beautiful trees. In Newcastle NSW we have 1200 I think, none as spectacular as this but wonderful.If you're ever here, Islington Park and Cooks Hill Park are worth a look. Council threatens them intermittently and are often successful, especially if they don't warn the community.
ReplyDeleteHi saveourfigs, Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI was in Newcastle attending the ISAAC conference earlier in 2009, there are indeed some very magnificent fig trees in and around your City.
Trees that have the genetic potential to grow into very large trees often cause concerns for those responsible for their management, especially when those same trees are squeezed between road and pavement.
Encouraging your council to develop an approach to the management of their larger older trees that is inclusive of the wider community can be an effective starting point.
All Local Government bodies document their commitment to the maintenance and improvement of their environment. Creating long term management planning for public trees is critical if any of these commitments are to be more than just soothing phrases.
I do know that there are some very committed council officers in Newcastle who work very hard to get the best possible outcome for the city's trees.....it is often the case that they are more frustrated than anyone when resources are not made available to effect practical action to manage the living assets.