UN Special No 541 Juin - June 2005

Tree
Every morning this week, on the Palais grounds I see at least one tree being cut down.
My heart went out to the most recent victim, an old acquaintance, that magnificent 100-year-old tree near Door 2.
I had always assumed that the trees (and fauna) in the Palais were «protected».
Where is this all going to end?

Reponse:
No sentimentality, please!
The Ariana park is indeed very beautiful. It is of course, entirely artificial (the sequoia you mention, or rather its ancestors, originated (probably) in North West USA or California, and was a «fashionable tree» in 19th century Geneva, when it was planted, perhaps by M. Reverdin. Incidentally, it used to be much higher but was struck by lightning some years ago). This implies constant care and maintenance. Trees, like people, grow old and die. They may also present a safety risk, for instance of falling branches or complete collapse if there is a high wind (and that tree was old, looked not very vigorous and was very near the main building). «Maintenance» for trees essentially means cutting down weak specimens and planting new ones in appropriate places: I hope you noticed there has been a lot of planting recently as well as cutting. Because trees live so long, people find it harder to accept that their life is still finite. The true concern for lovers of trees and forests is when the ecosystem suffers irreversible changes: on that count, I am confident that the Ariana park «ecosystem» (which is of course artificial and intensely, though sensitively, managed) is in good hands and managed sustainably. If left untended, in a year or two, the Ariana Park would be an unattractive waste land, inconvenient and possibly unsafe. In my view, the people maintaining the Ariana Park are doing a good job! (perhaps Messrs Gruet and Lüscher could provide more background on the circumstances of this particular decision?)