Editorial: Watch out for flora vandals

Linda Hall, assistant editor, Hawke's Bay Today.

Who are these people vandalising trees and pulling out plants?

Clearly whoever they are they haven't got enough to do and clearly whoever they are they have limited intelligence.

Do they actually know that if there were no trees, there would be no oxygen therefore there would be no humans.

I can understand someone wanting to fell a tree that is diseased, causing danger or even, and I don't say this lightly, a neighbourhood dispute.

In my eyes, the neighbours would have to have a pretty good reason for the tree to be cut down.

So yes sometimes it's necessary, but at a time when everyone is talking about the environment and the importance of keeping our flora and waterways in good health this blatant destruction is disappointing to say the least.

What's concerning is that while it was most likely children that pulled out plants from a freshly planted flower bed in Napier recently the poisoning of trees early this year and the vandalism of a group of five pohutukawa beside Pandora Pond, two of which were destroyed, and the cutting down of a banksia on a Tamatea reserve surely would have taken more effort than a child could muster.

If indeed adults are to blame, when they are caught and they will be, the eyes of a community are many, the penalty should not be monetary.

Instead the culprits should be made to go out with a forestry gang and plant trees for a couple of weeks.

The hard physical labour will leave them with no energy to get up to mischief under the cover of darkness.

I don't understand vandalism in any form. The need to destroy something for the sake of it doesn't make sense to me.

I can't count the number of times times I have seen branches ripped off trees in suburban streets.

It must be frustrating for our councils that do a fantastic job of keeping our twin cities looking good.

So if you see anything, remember it's your rates that help pay for those plants — phone police on their non-emergency number 105 and in the meantime snap a photo on your phone.