Once again when I got up this morning it appeared was a sunny day so I decided that it might be a good idea to visit St. Anne’s Park so that I could experiment with my new Zeiss Batis 25mm lens. I got the LUAS tram to Abbey Street [I am getting lazy] and then got the 130 bus to the park … the 130 bus operates at a frequency of a bus every 18 minutes on a Saturday. By the time I arrived at St. Anne’s it was raining and later this turned to hail but the weather did not really interfere with my photography. I case you are wondering, I was pleased with the lens and I may consider getting the soon to be introduced Batis 18mm.

When visited Merrion Square Park two weeks ago I was amazed by the number of trees that have been cut down. Today during my visit to St. Anne’s I was surprised to see that many trees have been felled since my last visit. It would appear that an aggressive tree management policy has been adopted by Dublin City Council. I am not sure what logic underlines the approach that has been adopted but my understanding is that there is a developing crisis because the majority of older trees have reached the end of their natural lives and need to be removed and replaced. The current crisis has arisen because the trees have not been managed on an ongoing basis so I am hoping that the current action is not too late or worse still incorrect.

According to various reports the island of Ireland currently has good tree cover, but this is under threat of decline due to piecemeal removal, the dominance of smaller tree species, a poor age structure and lack of a strategic approach to planting and management.

As the bigger, older trees begin to decline, there may be a shortage of large trees to take their place, which could result in a major loss of tree cover and its associated benefits. Careful selection and management of trees now can avoid some of the common problems later and can achieve better public amenity and long-term social, economic and environmental benefits.