Budget 2020, Copenhagen

They sure know how to throw the word "green" around, but it is blacker than ever. Not only did they set aside zero for the urban nature, they have now invested directly agaist it.

They know how severe the situation is, they just don't care. At all.

 0,5 million dkr to shut down the city's own tree nursery.

6,3 million dkr for streamlining green care and cleaning.

The dead forest

It is that time again. Budget negotiations for 2020 are on and on social media the political parties are sharing the priorities. Green in Copenhagen is as always about electricity, bikes and shared cars. Not trees and the grossly neglected urban nature. For years we have seen the trees passed over in the budgets. And we have reached the point where there is little left to preserve. The urban nature left is simply neglected. The care cut away and the gardeners now serving as staff in the cleaning department.

The question for all the political parties is this: Do you propose to set aside funds to the urban trees? For care and protection and not just new trees?

The promise of new trees is the closest we ever get, year in and year out. So lets feast our eyes on 50.000 of the new "urban trees" they promised Copenhagen. They were planted on a dumpster site by Selinevej. In soil from the metro sites, devoid of nutrition, and where they since withered during last year's drought. As a replacement they have planted acorns that will have to fight weeds and bad soil. By no stretch of the imagination urban trees.

PS! Thank you for the ride to Lorry TV, even though they ended up editing out Save the Urban Trees and any traces of a critical angle.

At this spot they are effectively killing off the existing grown trees, by covering the trees drip zone with woodchips.

When you can't see the forest for the... weeds.

De Gamles By, oasis or building site?

Our politicians are these days planning to develop in De Gamles By (City of the Elderly), building parking lots, a school, businesses and a diabetes center. The latter on Nordpolen (The North Pole), the last remaining part of the old commons and home to the magical old hawthorn, older than Nørrebro itself. The wildest thing we've got. The political majority are either oblivious to the importance of history and nature, or they just don't care.

Nørrebro is the most densely populated part of Copenhagen (times three the average!) and at the same time has the lowest amount of m2 green pr citizen. Now it makes sense why they felled so many trees along the years, for no apparent reason, "opening up" from all sides. An effective way to minimize the resistance, come building time.

The big decisions are made in city hall these days. Save the Urban Trees will work closely together with the green forces to keep the North Pole safe from developing, and have it protected as a park. The citizen's movement Forsvar De Gamles By (Defend the City of the Elderly) are keeping us updated on the development, and it is all happening at warp speed right now.

A look at the father of Nørrebro, the old hawthorn complete with arms, legs a face and a powerful personality.

Amber alert on Islands Brygge

Tomorrow TMU decides if funds will be granted to fell the ENTIRE cherry avenue on Islands Brygge. A mad plan from the administration, who have offered the trees living conditions so poor that 14 of them over time have died and been felled. They now wish to fell the remaining 131 trees: 122 cherry trees (about 20 years old), 4 rowans, 4 poplar trees and the big chestnut on the corner.

Photo: Jan Oster, Islands Brygges Lokalråd (local council).

From the meeting material.

None of the trees are sick, but they have been subjected to poor living conditions which is reflected in their growth. Last year the city added another layer of compacted gravel, all the way up to the trunks, which among other things robs the trees of water. And recently the city itself increased heavy traffic on the roots, which makes it even harder for the young trees to thrive.

Rather than improving the living conditions and adjust their own behavior, the administration prefers to fell all and start from scratch with a new avenue. This goes against the new Tree Policy stating that trees "only be felled where absolutely necessary" and that "ensures good living conditions for existing trees".

The proposal hides in a bigger plan to renovate and improve the Harbour Park. Miraculously, the local council Islands Brygges Lokalråd discovered it in the nick of time, and this buys the citizens exactly one day to stop it. The decision is made tomorrow.

Links (Danish):

Islands Brygges Lokalråd/Local Council's letter to the politicians, with documentation and relevant information.

Bilag 2 TM1, Renovering og forbedring af Havneparken, Budgetnotat (meeting material)

Another dispensation for Carlsberg

Copenhagen got a new board of Technical and Environmental Affairs. Venstre, consistently voting against the trees, are no longer in, but we got two new parties: DF and Alternativet. In the latest meeting they voted about trees. And as promised we are keeping an eye on how they vote, like on Monday where Carlsberg applied for another dispensation to fell trees in the category "worth preserving". This time asking for seven of them.

In favor:
Socialdemokratiet, Konservative, Liberal Alliance, SF og Alternativet.

Against:
Radikale, Dansk Folkeparti og Enhedslisten.

This means the request was granted. Costing Copenhagen another 7 trees in the special category "worth preserving", one of which can be saved if, and only if, the neighbors fight for it during the neighbor orientation. We will keep an eager eye on that

Asked why, the party Alternativet justified its approval by the assessment that it would be no major loss of biodiversity. To which we can only say that urban trees, and especially street trees as these, contribute with so much more than biodiversity. We will have to talk a lot more about this.

Link to the meeting material on the record. (Danish)

The Technical- and Environmental Board of Copenhagen, as of January 1st 2018:

Latest satellite view of Carlsberg. And this was before they felled the Climbing Forest.

Over 300 trees felled.

Battle plan for the lake chestnuts

We have now entered the winter season, and the tormented chestnut trees on the road side of the lakes have not been pardoned. The Winter Service even denies that the trees are affected by the salt at all. That it is simply flushed out into the sewer system, without causing any harm. It makes no sense. The city knows perfectly well that salt is poison and that caliumformiat makes a huge difference.

The reason for not protecting the lake chestnut trees: they are already having a hard time (!?!).

It is very hard to get employees in the city to contradict the management on this, as their livelihoods depends on obeying orders. This is why the pressure must come from the citizens, with nothing to lose (except the urban trees). If we as citizens don't protest, we will lose our lake chestnut trees much faster than need be. This will happen because the trees are denied life prolonging care and further the decay by salting.

This is what we can do right now:

1. Argue for the political board on their last meeting before the election, decide whether the funds for caliumformiat can be granted for the road side of the lakes. The Winter Service informs us that it will only be done by direct political order.*

2. Sign the petition for the funds, allowing tree care specialists to prolong the lives of the old trees, over the next three years, and for the salt to be replaced with caliumformiat on the above mentioned stretch.

*Made difficult by the fact that politicians consulting the Winter Service on the damages from salt on this stretch, are misinformed.

The other steps will be implemented if the first two don't work. To be continued...

Funny how the the trees are  suddenly useful come election spam time.

Sign the petition: Hjælp Søkastanjerne!

The lake chestnut trees in Lorry

Thank you so much Lorry, for talking about the lake chestnut trees. The winter season starts on November 1st, so if the salt is to be replaced, it is last call. The people who care for the trees should get the funds they applied for, for the three-year plan to extend the lives of the old trees. Sign here if you want to help.

https://www.skrivunder.net/hjalp_sokastanjerne

(Reads) The crown jewels of the lakes under pressure: they are salting them to death.

Citizens movement fights city to make them stop salting along the chestnut trees lining the lakes. 

Link to article in Lorry (Danish)

Lake chestnut alarm!

To keep it short, all you need to do is look at the attached pictures. The old chestnut trees lining the center lakes on the road side, are fighting to stay alive. The many holes and small "replacement" trees speaks volumes on the gravity of the issue. Another tree just died and the others are close behind it. They are still salted in the winter, and the funds that the managers had requested in the budget for urgent extra care and monitoring (1,5 mill. dkr/approximately €200.000 or US$240.000, including a citizens involvement process, or even less with just the plain care), were not granted. See the attached screenshot.

These funds must be granted to provide the urgent extra care of the lake chestnuts. And: salting must be stopped immedeately on the road side of the lakes. Otherwise we lose our trees.

Should we launch a petition?

Screenshot from the budget notes below, where the management ask a small amount for extra care.

 

Highlighted in yellow: "..need for intensified monitoring, care and pruning of the trees. And: "Until the trees are replaced, for security reasons extra care and monitoring is needed." In red: "Not granted."

(Full text:) With this budget note financing is requested for three initiatives, supporting the renovation of the inner lakes surroundings.

1. Intensive monitoring and care of chestnut trees in 2018-2021 plus citizen involvement process regarding the replacement (1,5 mill dkr cost). The chestnut trees around the lakes are weakened by age, pests and disease. There have been cases of large branches of trees breaking off, endangering citizens, and several trees are felled every year. For security reasons and to keep the notable trees as long as possible there is a need for intensified monitoring, care and pruning of the trees. Furtermore the future kind of trees must be more robust. The management discourages chestnut trees as this species are prone to attacks from disease and pests. Possible new tree species taking over as the prominent tree around the lakes could for example be silver maple, tulip tree or bird cherry tree.

The management will include the citizens and local councils in the process of replacing he trees and electing the replacement species, to secure the higest level of ownership to the major change a replacement will be. Following the council will receive a proposal for a replanting plan. Until the trees are replaced, for security reasons extra care and monitoring is needed.

Zero funding. Again.

Our representatives in the city council just distributed 3,7 billion crowns in the budget for 2018. And how much went to our tormented street trees? 0.- Again.

All parties enter the negotiations with their own agenda. Be it bikes, parking, business, elderly or children. Forgetting entirely the one thing we all share: urban nature. And they fail the assignment with immense and unpredictable consequences for the city's green infrastructure. A let-down reaching far into the coming generations.

We are short of resources to keep better watch of the street trees. Needing more hands and eyes. The street trees must be mapped. We need an investment in more of the alternative deicing caliumformiat, before salt kills all our street trees. Living conditions for existing trees must be improved (there is a will and a way, but no funds), and the oldest and most tormented trees are in urgent need of extra care. Exposed street trees must be protected like in other big cities. The list goes on.

But, despite a new tree policy, the street trees and existing nature is still invisible in the budgets. Not even the utmost urgencies are funded. Among those the tortured old chestnut trees along the lakes, once again skipped, despite the highly critical state making it downright irresponsible to ignore (we'll cover that in a separate chapter).

In the "green" part of the budget it states that for street cleaning, party handling and clean toilets alone, over 40 millions are set aside. Cleaning is prioritized over urban trees and nature to the extent that the gardeners (!) are now sweeping the city. As in: removed from the task they have trained for and been hired to perform. In return, street sweepers are transferred to park duties. Where they are free to do irrepparable harm, as they don't have the necessary skill set. This is how our city prioritizes.

Can we agree to ask better of our new representatives up for election for 2018?

The "green" part. Reads: A greener and cleaner Copenhagen. Copenhagen's green solutions and bike-culture inspires the world. Copenhagen will continue to be one of the world's best bike cities, and we strive to become CO2-neutral in 2025. Copenhagen will also become a cleaner city. With budget 18 we are setting aside funds for even better bike conditions, increased cleaning of the city and greener buses. (2.710 tonnes of garbage in the streets of Copenhagen in 2016)

Links (all in Danish):

Budgetaftale for København 2018

(The "green" part) Et Grønnere og Renere København, pdf

Regneark, Budget 2018, pfd

Alert on Carlsberg, again!

Carlsberg is up to felling again. This Monday the city (TMU) must decide if dispensation can be given to fell another nine trees deemed worth preserving. Six lining a road and tree in a garden, that they want to transform into a container city. One of the trees they are asking permission to fell, is the first one in the picture below:

A giant!

More information can be found (in Danish) in the TMU agenda, available online.

Satellite image of the last green spot. Now in danger of being demolished.

And an excerpt from the appendix of TMU's agenda.

The nine trees worth preserving that they want permission to fell (encircled). The all red dots are trees worth preserving where felling has already been granted. The all green dots are felled too, but are to be replanted. Translated: They have been allowed to fell almost everything, and now they want another nine.

The last six trees are to be felled due to digging work nearby. This can be done with care, without felling, as is best practice in eg. Stockholm. But then again it is much easier to just fell and replant another tree.

The request is worded as an ultimatum: if they are not allowed to fell another nine trees it will significantly delay the project and cost will go up. We can only hope that the city of Copenhagen is done throwing itself on Carlsberg's feet. Enough is enough!

Thank you to Miljøpunkt Nørrebro for the alert.

Link (in Danish):

Agenda and appendixes.

Tree policy for Copenhagen

Today is the day!

Today the tree policy for Copenhagen is up for political vote. Nothing short of a milestone for the urban trees and the collective effort by NGOs, citizens and politicians, working tirelessly to get the trees on the agenda.

The five basic points, of the tree policy for Copenhagen:

1. Existing trees in Copenhagen must as a general rule be preserved.

2. Valuable trees in Copenhagen must be identified and preserved.

3. More trees should be planted in Copenhagen.

4. Good living conditions must be provided for both new and existing trees in Copenhagen.

5. Securing diversity.

The need for a full count of the urban trees, is mentioned in several places. Bringing us to the much awaited tree map. We need to talk about that soon, too..

Everybody cross your fingers, and hope this one will be passed. It would be amazing!

(Rescued trees by the bunkers on Queen Louises Bridge)

UPDATE:
We just got word from Tommy Petersen (B): the tree policy was adopted.
Copenhagen now have its first ever tree policy.
Hooray!

Links (in Danish):

Tree policy on the agenda (official document)

Article in Politiken about the upcoming tree policy