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)

Petition: Help the Lake Chestnuts

The old lake chestnut trees are fighting to stay alive, and need our help urgently. The city of Copenhagen not only denied the department funds for a plan to prolong their lives, but also continue to use the toxic salt on the roadside of the lakes, to save money. This can't go on.

The trees on the roadside are now so weak that they are continuously being felled for safety reasons. The many holes in the row and the burnt canopies, says it all. The citizens are the last hope. For this reason, we have started a petition to make the city fund the departments plan to care for the trees, and to stop the salting of the road side trees, effective immediately.

 (this is translated in another post, here)

Caliumformiat is used on one side, salt on the other.

The winter service informs us that an average winter season with caliumformiat costs 140.000 dkr, on this stretch. Caliumformiat is exactly twice the cost of salt, meaning the added cost of switching is 70.000 dkr. If the City of Copenhagen refuses to switch, we must insist that the old trees are in some way shielded from the salt. We request political action now!

Sign here (Danish): Hjælp Søkastanjerne!

An improvement

Who remembers the poor Hofor-bashed street trees on Frederiksborggade? Just look at them now. Thank you, Copenhagen!

Before and now. Not the exact same tree, but same row and same treatment. Ah, what an improvement.

Salt vs. caliumformiat

Leading up to the local elections in November, we will focus on our tormented street trees, of which the lethal salting plays a crucial part. Salt is poison to all living organisms and the damages are thoroughly documented: the salt is collected in the soil and dries up the roots, causing stress in the tree, deformity at the crown and in the end it withers and die. There is a viable alternative to salt, called caliumformiat. Short-term it is exactly twice the cost of salt, but long term it is an investment with a solid return. The question is if we want trees lining our streets and roads, or not? If we do, salting along street trees must stop. It simply must be a political priority.

In other big cities around the world, salt has been abandoned long ago. In Berlin they even hand out steep fines to land owners, if they use salt. It is that serious. Meanwhile in Copenhagen, the trees are systematically killed, to save on cost. By the lakes you see the staggering difference between the two de-icing solutions, as one side (only) have been tested with caliumformiat since 2010. An attached map of the route reveals a small skip, easily read on the unlucky trees. Take a guess which trees in the pictures below have been subjected to salt.

Or just take a stroll through the city and read the damages in the burnt leaves, dead parts and crippled crowns. This is how damaging salt is. The money saved by using salt, ultimately is a costly affair.

Take a guess where the salting vehicle makes a loop...

Here is the gentle route for the lakes, in red:

And a close up at the telling loop, where the caliumformiat skips.

Here are the trees at the same point, seen from a different angle. The first in the row of spared are even burnt on the salt side. It is a cry for help. Echoed by the photographer while shooting, I might add.

Below the two sides of the lake, as seen from Dr. Louises Bridge. Unsalted first.

Tormented horse chestnut trees. Vulnerable due to pavement and compressed soil and the final nail in the coffin: salt.
 

It is absolutely possible to make more routes with caliumformiat. Like for example bike lanes, typically lining the trees. No one is asking the city to leave out all salt at once, everywhere, at the estimated cost of 50 million crowns. But to continue the salting of our street trees, will be the end of them. It is that simple.

Links:

Maps and korrespondance on the subject with the city's service area chief Jon Pape. (In Danish)

Street trees, the stepchildren of Copenhagen

If you are wondering why the Copenhagen street trees are looking so miserable and deformed, here's a good indication why. This time it is Hofor, at it on Frederiksborggade.

It is uncomfortably clear that the city at road work, despite our pleas, still don't place conditions or keep watch over the street trees. If damages are even caught, they can take up to six weeks to mend and have no consequence whatsoever.

Hard to grasp that a city with a surplus in the billions can't manage to take better care of its street trees. Unacceptable!