Lochnell pupil asks school chief to rethink tree axing
Trees on school grounds across Argyll and Bute are being safety checked after the death of a child in England, writes Kathie Griffiths.
Lochnell Primary School in Benderloch was one school that had trees felled recently as a precaution.
But one nine-year-old pupil at the school was so upset to see the trees go that she wrote a letter to the council’s education director Douglas Hendry hoping Argyll and Bute Council will think again before axing more elsewhere.
The youngster’s letter told Mr Hendry that a teacher told them the council had decided to take down the trees because they were not safe.
But she told Mr Hendry she believed the trees had been healthy because the cut trunks and stumps showed no signs of rotting. A bird’s nest was also found on the ground.
“No child has ever climbed any of the trees in our playground. The branches were too high. So I am wondering if safety was a worry for you?” she asked, telling Mr Hendry that she and her friends loved playing under the trees and that they gave them shelter from the sun and rain. The Lochnell school has a pupil council and an eco committee.
“Our teachers listen to our ideas and voices. Why were we not asked or told about the trees being cut down?” asked the young letter writer, asking Mr Hendry for an explanation.
The Oban Times was told staff at the school had to check out why the tree felling company were on site after they arrived unannounced and taped off the tree.
“I hope this letter will change your mind about cutting down trees in other schools,” she wrote.
A council spokesperson said: “We appointed a specialist contractor to carry out an inspection of trees within our school estate.
“The safety and wellbeing of pupils is our priority and the inspection was done as a precautionary measure after a child was fatality injured at a school in England as a result of being struck by a falling tree.
“The specialist identified some trees that needed to be removed for safety reasons, including those at Lochnell Primary School. The trees concerned will be replaced by fruit trees.”