What we have learned

One of the things we have learned by following the case from the earliest stage, is the importance of the hearings. This is the time to ensure that trees and nature is prioritized. That the existing trees are incorporated in the design, to the fullest extent. The difference between the previous and today's winner of the competition for Sølund retirement home is like night and day.

The Sølund files are now available online (a whopper of a pdf file, in Danish), where every step of the process is laid out. The restrictions, the evaluation, the individual cases and best of all the winning project from C.F. Møller and Tredje Natur. Trees are mentioned throughout the material, all the way to instructions to care for them during the construction phase. So reassuring.


A few nice screen dumps from the material (instructions to care for and incorporate the trees).

The winner has kept the existing parking ramp for the underground facility. This means that the surrounding soil is untouched, and the existing nature can be preserved. Well done! Note the winning team's proposal: the Ladytree is properly named (Dametræet).

Makes your heart swell.

More Sølund post, with the most recent first:
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, Feb. 17 2016

The unveiling, Feb. 16 2016
Save the Ladytree, March 20 2013
Sølund, Feb. 26 2013

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

The winning team of the new Sølund retirement home have been announced: C.F. Møller and Tredje Natur (translates into: Third Nature, which sounds promising). It looks like the old beech on the corner survives, but it is impossible to tell from the renditions if the Ladytree will too. (to be updated)

Update:

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, I have just talked to one of the architects, in his owns words "of course we have incorporated the Ladytree". Along with other old trees. For now we will let them celebrate, and then we will make a full tree count at another time. Oh, this is such good news!

PS! I have spoken to the new owners of the premises KAB, and they are touched by the present by arborists Morten & Rødderne, and the removal of the evil ivy. I have hooked them up and when the big day arrives, it will be properly documented of course.

The unveiling

Tomorrow at 2PM the fate of more than 70 trees on the Nørrebro retirement home Sølund, will be revealed. Among them the Ladytree, our beautiful 154 year old ginkgo biloba and the contemporary majestic beech on the corner. Starring in our avatar, as the endangered pair.

The first winner of the new Sølund retirement home competition, was a sad, dense and naked colossus. Fortunately, that plan was shut down. A majority in city hall wanted more parking spots, and they were granted that, if the competition was allowed to start over. Tomorrow we will know the outcome.

In the hearing material for the competition the number of trees on the ground, were halved on the map (!), and the Ladytree marked as not worth preserving (!). It turns out that the project manager had revoked the status, to leave more available space for underground parking. With massive objections from the neighbors and other persistent parties, we managed to get the tree marked as worth preserving. Meaning only that the architects are encouraged to keep it around, but not obligated. 

Nerve wracking!

Sølund have been city run and owned until recently, and the Ladytree have been left to suffocate in the ivy for decades. It is a painstaking and costly affair to remove 40+ years of ivy from a six story tall tree, but amazingly we have been contacted by the certified arborists Morten & Rødderne (Morten and the roots), offering to liberate the Ladytree as a present for the citizens and Save the Urban Trees. 

What a classy move! Now all we need is for the project winner to spare our tree. First it must be saved, and then freed. Fingers crossed, everyone..

Watch the Ladytree on P1 Natursyn's small video 

The urban oasis about to be destroyed, Feast your eyes on Classic Copenhagen.

Happy birthday!

Three years ago on this day, Red Byens Træer (Save the Urban Trees) was born with a single question on Facebook: “Time to save some trees, anyone with us?”.

As it happens, there were. Save the Urban Trees is the citizen’s voice and a place to communicate with each other, the city and all the engaged tree experts. Today, I attended a meeting on the University of Copenhagen to prepare for a presentation in April. The tree-tribe of Denmark meets up at a theme day for old trees, and I will be introducing our movement. Imagine that?

We are going to save so many trees, we have only just begun.

Happy birthday all! : )

The first question: Time to save some trees, anyone with us? It still goes..