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LETTER: Replacement trees won't make up for loss of Big Pondy in Saanich

"Big Pondy” is a 60-foot-tall, majestic Ponderosa pine on public property
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Dave Secco stands in front of a decades old pine he and other Saanich residents have nicknamed Big Pondy as they try to ensure it doesn't get cut down.

Eight townhouses are proposed for 1899 Cochrane St. and seven trees for removal. One of them is “Big Pondy,” a 60-foot-tall, majestic Ponderosa pine on public property. We, the public, want her to stay.

A tree guy in Spokane says: "Because Ponderosa pines are native, they can live off the water just from the regular seasons, and they're resistant to most local insects. Further, this large-canopy tree absorbs carbon, improves air quality and is the No. 1 absorber of stormwater."

Read Saanich's Urban Forest Strategy and you would think saving “Big Pondy” is a no-brainer. Nope, she is to make way for a replacement tree.  Replacement trees are a stick stuck in the dirt. Absolutely no underground network like 70 years of Big Pondy. If not staked, they fall over and they take massive amounts of water to take root. Who will water them? What will shade them during ever-increasing temperatures and future heat domes?

A replacement tree will have to compete with new concrete, pavement, underground services and the mass of eight townhouses. What are the chances of survival? It's "Big Pondy" vs. “Little Stick.” Who would you bet on, Warren Buffet or Thomas Ponzi?

Large, mature trees get grandfathered when it comes to pruning for power lines that go through their branches. Replacement trees near power lines are allowed a height of only 15 feet. How does that work for replacing “Big Pondy's” massive canopy?

Instead of changing the trees, change the building plans.

Dave Secco

Saanich