27 comments so far.Fiscus tree chainsaw massacre, It-Tokk Gozo – J.A. Tyrell
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“Can someone from the Ministry for Gozo please explain why the trees in Independence Square or It-Tokk area have been vandalised seemingly under the noses of the Ministry?
All these trees are protected by Trees and Woodlands Protection Regulations (LN12 of 2001), which requires pruning only to take place under permit by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority or the Department of Agriculture. Can the Minister for Gozo Giovanna Debono please inform the public if such a permit was obtained in this case? If the permit was obtained who made the application, for example was it the Gozo Ministry itself?
They are an important roosting site for wintering birds. Locals and tourists alike enjoy them. Every year I visit Gozo I always make my way back to the square around 5.30 p.m. to listen to the birds settling down for the night.
So is this just another example of Maltese tree pruning carried out by people with chainsaws who have no idea what they are doing, or is it a prelude to the trees being removed completely? This is what the Gozo Ministry tried to do back in 2010 and at the time I wrote about it in the Times.
Unless I’m mistaken these old ficus trees are protected due to their age so why has the Gozo Ministry allowed this to happen? Trees seem to be a dirty word in Gozo. Remember all the trees removed on the road to San Lawrenz, Xaghra and Ta’ Pinu?
There again we have to remember that the weather is extremely cold in Gozo at the moment so perhaps someone from the Ministry needed some logs for their wood burner!”
James A. Tyrrell
N. Ireland.
Photo by Rev George Mercieca.
VERY WELL SAID.
Mr Tyrrell Those trees are on their way out ,but as the elections are getting close they might stay there for another two months
By now, most people should realize that we don’t like trees in Gozo or Malta for that matter. They are messy – the leaves blow all over the place, the birds who roost in them leave lots of manure behind, the roots damage all the underground pipes and badly built roads and they take away all the sun in winter. In other words they are a thorough nuisance.
So we must cut them down – especially in the middle of winter when we need firewood and the birds need a place to roost. This is after all eco-Gozo!
Surely you should know Mr. Tyrrell that we are trying very hard to cover the island in concrete so that we no longer have problems with leaves and roots or birds and hunters. We will also then no longer need to use herbicides and other poisons and this will become a a true ECO-ISLAND at last!
@ Mr Tyrrell. Consider this. In Main Gate Street in Victoria the trees, quite recently, were similarly ‘vandalised’, to use your word. The result? The taxis in the taxi rank are no longer covered with bird guano on a daily basis when the starlings arrive in their tens of thousands each evening. The metal public benches under the trees can actually be sat on without messing up your clothes. The trees will quickly grow foliage again. It is not as though they have been damaged beyond repair. It makes me wonder how much Mr Tyrrell knows about tree husbandry. In the adjoining playground (now dismantled for redevelopment) the children’s slide has for years been unusable for much of the year for the same reason. Starling have wings. They will readily find somewhere else to roost.
I find your use of the term ‘tree husbandry’ laughable David. It is quite possible to trim a tree in a way which enhances the tree growth and this could well be described as tree husbandry. What normally happens in Malta however is that someone arrives with a chainsaw and hacks them to pieces. That David is vandalism.
With regard to the ficus trees in Main Gate Street can you tell me what age those trees are? They appear to be quite old to me, as old in fact as the ones at It-Tokk. My point is David were the trees there first or were the taxi’s there first? If the trees were there first you can’t very well blame the birds for doing what birds naturally do simply because someone decided to put a taxi rank below them. If the taxi rank was there first then who thought it would be a good idea to plant the trees there knowing that birds would deposit their droppings on the taxis?
Can I suggest you take a trip to Qala sometime David and pull into the car park in front of the church. Here you will find ficus trees which have been pruned by someone who knew what they were doing. Anyway as you say the starlings will find somewhere else to roost and as you well know that will be in buildings which will end up being covered in bird guano which being acidic will cause a lot more damage than they do at present. Birds have been here a lot longer than we have David, about 65 million years, and I have no doubt they will be around when we have wiped ourselves off the face of the earth. So learn to live with them.
Well said James. Gozo is a beautiful place and has been my home for a number of years. The brutal pruning of these trees is a small example of thoughtlessness.
Sadly, in line with most countries anything ‘Eco’ is just something to be talked about and debated by politicos-with very little subsequent action. The thoughtless large scale destruction of anything natural will continue because of developers greed, political corruption and the desire of thousands of politicos and their entourages to attend exotic locations around the world to talk, drop their greedy snouts in troughs and achieve nothing. Except a carbon ‘bombshell’ from the thousands of flights getting them to these locations, paid for by tax payers and the media. What ever happened to video conferencing?
The damage to the trees at It-Tokk is one tiny example of how our beautiful nature is eroded. All over Europe birds are blasted from the skies and nothing is done to stop it. Why? Well, here on the Maltese islands hunters have votes. Need I say more. So long as decent average people don’t have a say in our world the damage and the destruction will be all pervading.
Let us see what happens to Hondoq. I suspect in a couple of years time it will be a massive construction site. Gozo might be tiny but over time the concrete, lead pollution from shotgun cartridges, construction waste dumping and litter will deter much needed tourists from this little gem in the Mediterranean. That will be very sad indeed, but a microcosm of what is the macrocosm of reality.
It is people like you James that speak your mind that is needed. The trouble is by the time a lone voice has spoken, it’s too late because the damage has been done. Development creates jobs. Hunting sells shotguns, cartridges, gun oil and votes.
Sometimes progress in the wrong direction is a terrible thing. Thankfully Gozo is still a place to be cherished. For now.
I was trying to negotiate the terrible pavement around It-Tokk this afternoon when two tourists halted in front of me and one exclaimed “My God, My God, what has happened to the trees?”. I found it very embarrassing to have to explain that the Ministry needed firewood!
Thank you, James, for your response. I will try to find answers to the questions you raise. I know Qala well, having had a holiday home there close to the church some years ago. I will just add this: in Ghajnsielem, in the Pjazza tad-Dehra in about 1996, the trees were treated much as the ones in It-Tokk and Main Gate Street have been. I was as horrified then as you are now.. I did not know that it was in preparation for the building of the beautiful fountain depicting the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the farmer Anglu Grech. If you visit the square now you will see that the trees are happily restored to their former state.
As for the comment by another person that the trees in It-Tokk were lopped because the Ministry needed firewood, words fail me. If it was meant as a joke, it was not funny.
James, as you well said…….’when ever you visit Gozo, you enjoy……’ . Me to if i had not to live in the area, would enjoy those messy trees, but since i have to cope with their mess daily and regularly, i would definitely love to see them vanish forever. The are better alternatives then ficus messy trees. What about medium sized orange trees in large terracotta pots……..!!!!!!!!!!! They would definitely give a colourful ambience and if planted in large pots, can be easily removed whenever there are big activities like new year, carnival and the two catholic feasts of the city.
Tal misthija. L-aqwa li niftahru b ambjent malta u ghawdex. Lanqas nibdew fej pajjizi ewropej. Misna nisthu
George I have been in the square during big activities as you call them and I can assure you the trees didn’t get in the way. The trees enhance the square and provide shade to those using the square as well as providing night time roosting for thousands of birds. Visitors coming to the square now stare open mouthed at what has happened and leave again with the impression that the local authorities just don’t care, which is obviously true. The ones who are pushing to have the trees removed are the cafe owners and stall holders who use the square. Do you think that the space provided by the removal of the trees would make any difference? What do you think visitors would find more attractive in the square George, three or four extra tables or beautiful old trees? As for your idea of medium sized orange trees in large pots that would be a non starter George for many reasons including the fact that they would by their nature take up more ground space than the trees do at present.
Jekk tridu tara l-ambjent ejjew araw Venezja fi Pjazzetta fuq it-Tomba, Rabat. EU Standard State of the Art roadworks. Nixtieq naf kif nibghat ritratti hawn biex nurikom. Tad dahk. Milux turist kien kwazi spicca l isptar. Ha hahahahhaahahahahahah Viva Eviva l Medjokrita
James,
I think that you don’t know what you are talking about. during our big activities, and really big not sarcastically as you might have indicated, i can assure you that people try to avoid staying under the trees because when the birds hear different noises from the usual ones, they start pouring some sort of incented liquids. Also i can assure you that 95% of the locals would love to see those trees moved out of the way. So please let us locals decide what is good for us. We never hear you talking about the f….. ups you have in your country, you just always criticise others. And believe me am not writing this article because am some sort of political fanatic of this government ta.!!!!!! far from it. You people that retire here(not all) just want us to do anything that is nice in your eyes and anything else is just as bad as the devil it’s self…………….and also still imagine we are still an english colony……!!!!!!!!!!
@ John……………you are damn right, that are is worse the Bagdad…………..from the corner of tomb sqr up to the corner of the 1st pet shop is like the moon and from then onwards is like going down the cathedral stair by car……!!!!!!!!!!!
You would agree George that everyone is entitled to an opinion. I gave my opinion as a tourist and you have given your opinion as I assume a local. You state that 95% of the locals would like to see the trees removed. Where did that figure come from George as I don’t remember a vote being taken? If you can’t back figures like this up then they mean nothing. As regards the f….. ups in my country which you allude to why would I be talking about those in the Gozo News?
I first started making comments on Gozo issue years ago George when some ‘local’ decided to start telling everyone what tourists wanted. I felt at the time and still feel now that I have a better idea what tourists want than someone who lives there. That is why I will continue to speak from a ‘tourists’ point of view which may not always agree with your point of view. Also George if you take a look at the country as a whole you will see that it is run by people who don’t give a toss about you or your heritage or your environment, and we can see on a daily basis the result of letting local people decide what is good for them as you put it. A lot of local people are against what is happening in the country George but can’t speak out against it as they are afraid of losing their jobs. Don’t say it doesn’t happen as I personally know of cases where it has.
With regard to your English colony remark why do people like you insist on living in the past? Get the English colony chip off your shoulder and start living in the present, and start complaining when you see things happening that you think are wrong. You never know you might just end up feeling better about yourself.
It is of no use EcoGozo wants more trees on the island because they should take care of existing trees before planting more. How come they dident know that the trees at it-Tokk were being butchered. After all there offices are at the ministry and they visit the culture office frequently. Dont know but maybe they had some preasure from the shopkeepers that have turned a public square into a private one. Every vote in the coming election is essential and the trees unfortunatly dont have the right to vote. Why care for them when the goverment have nothing to gain out of them!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ James Tyrrell
Your comments are good remarks that if Giovanna will take notice ECO Gozo will have a better meaning.
@ George I am a gozitan and don`t agree with you full stop .The trees were before the restaurants and coffee shops
Trees before taxis, birds millions of years before humans, public square turned into private bars, all true and all make sense. I ask. The taxi owners, Market sellers and bar owners alike, cannot they invest in square umbrellas as they use in many other bars. In Xlendi they have them for the sun, we can have them in at Tokk underneath the trees for birds dropping. I congratulate the Bus terminus how the trees were replanted there.
I had a birds eye view by Google Earth and I found it hard to find the trees at it-Tokk, while the Villa Rundle showed up so well . Go to 36°02’33.71″ N 14°14’32.85″ E and see how many alternative places our dear birds have where to rest at night. What about the cemetery at Arcisqof Pietru Pace Street. There are many trees there, and now with the new street opening, more trees can be planted, maybe the ones from it-Tokk.
I love birds but I also think that if we humans want to take a cappucchino in a square without getting dirty, then why not as long as there are many other trees around where the birds could go! It is not uncommon to hear on NatGeo that birds eradicate another species of birds to take their habitat! If birds can do it to each other why not us? The bird will not go in houses as long as there are other trees around and if there is no room for them on the many trees we have around, then it would mean that there are too many birds.
I believe that it is lovely for tourists and locals alike to sit down and hear the birds coming in before dark to their bed site. It is nice to do it at it-Tokk because there are benches and waiters serving! Can the people involved hurry up finish the Villa Rundle so that these people can go there and sit down in wait for the daily return of the birds, and hopefully a small bar stand to serve us some refreshments? And I am not trying to be cynical, authorities could grant us the Villa open till then and bird and nature lovers can make it a ‘thing to do in Gozo’ There you are a brilliant idea!
@ James Tyrrel you said, I quote. ‘A lot of local people are against what is happening in the country George but can’t speak out against it as they are afraid of losing their jobs. Don’t say it doesn’t happen as I personally know of cases where it has’. You might be threading on a thin ice, you could be saying that we Maltese have no freedom of speech because if we speak we lose our jobs! I would be careful of what you say if I were you. I heard these words spoken as of late from the mouth of our neighbors; the Libyans!
Let us enjoy ourselves and live as best we can, first of all with each other and then with the nature, being birds, trees, cats and dogs and Neolithic temples. We all evolved from same cell and thank the meteor that changed the Dinosaurs into birds. We are all stardust even what drops on the car parked in the square. Life is too short to waste it fighting. And a last contemplation ‘”You cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do.”
I do not know what to say about the people that select to come and live in our Islands
sometimes make a big thing out of somthing,for instance ,trees are getting destroyed
in ( IT-tokk Gozo ). they are usless old trees no good to supply even fresh air from the
normal beautifull green leaves,they were there in 1932 ,and never been replaced,and
you want to save them,just an old old tree !!!!!
Mr Magro, OLD s beutiful when talking of something like a tree. Sick is not though! If they are sick cut them down but not because they are old. On the one hand I dream of a world without frontiers because I believe that we are all citizens of one same planet but what I would not do is go to another country and after I am accepted there I start to insult the way people trim trees and what the wood is used for and how the minister is handling things and so on. Thank you
@ George re your comment dated Feb 12. You are hundred per cent right .
There are many Brits/Irish/Welsh arrogant snobs still living in the past. They speak with authority, they do the thinking for us and seem to know about Malta and it`s day to day issues more then the Maltese themselves. Worst of all they don`t even live in Malta. They don`t want to accept the fact that the empire has long gone. Now even Scotland wants a divorce. What Kingdom???
If those trees are deemed dangerous due to their age, they got to go before they kill someone, regardless of their status. I have a couple of canaries in my sunroom which I can enjoy every day, not just once a year. How POETIC some people can be.
George I get the shivers when I read certain comments. They are insults to the four hundred thousand Maltese CITIZENS, including me.
Gozoroo
Regal and majestic is how I would describe the trees at it-Tokk.Shocking and saddened to see what happened to them,I grew up with those trees in all their glory growing up in Gozo. I hardly call that tree massacre “pruning”
Those trees will never ever recoup and most likely will eventually be removed… how sad indeed!
There should be a massive drive by the Maltese Goverment for tree planting in all Malta/Gozo regions,bar none..trees are the very lungs that gives this planet a second chance!
Yes, it’s me again, and you have to scroll up to see my previous comments. The people who complained about chainsaw massacres should have another look at the trees in It- Tokk now that they have grown again. To my mind they strike the right balance between the interests of the people underneath them and the aesthetic impression of greenery. The insults thrown at the people who ‘butchered’ them were misplaced. The workmen knew what they were doing. The same applies to the trees in Main Gate Street, which are again fresh and green and shapely. As for the trees in Qala in the main square, yes, they do look nice, but when very recently I went to sit down while my pizza at Ta’ Vestru was cooking, I could not, because every public seat in the square was covered in bird lime. Starlings in their hundreds of thousands can find plenty of places in the countryside to roost without making life unpleasant for the people below them, in terms of both mess and noise.
As a foreigner who first came to Malta in 1956 and who now lives here in preference to England, I have to agree with the comments above that there are some (too many) foreign residents in Gozo who complain about anything and everything that happens here. It is indeed a sad remnant of the old colonialist mentality. I just wish they would go and live somewhere else if they are so dissatisfied and dismissive of the Maltese people, for whom I have an undying (but not uncritical) admiration.
Can we not be more tolerant of each other?
Hello all, How are the trees at it-Tokk? Have they been taken down? Have they re grew to their splendor? I can’t wait to get there next month as I come for a visit. I cant wait to see them again if they are still there. Bye
Anthony, I think you will find that the trees are happy and are looking very healthy with new growth. The same applies to the trees in Main Gate Street, also allegedly ‘massacred’. I will write again more fully next month, on the anniversary of the letter from Mr Tyrrell which started this all off.
Please somebody tell me what happened to the trees in the Malta Dairy Products factory in Gozo and why they was cut down by a certain person and was sold by him for bbq and fire places.
Nobody said nothing when all the workers in Gozo was sent to work in the factory in Malta while this particular person was left in Gozo to kill all the trees and sell there wood with the money in his pockets he was left their b’cus he had connections with the old government and now it is changed he is still there….
Four years on, I invite Mr. James Tyrrell to update his remarks in February 2012 about the vandalising by the Ministry for Gozo of the trees in It-Tokk, and his comment that the men responsible had no idea what they were doing. “Somebody arrives with a chainsaw and hacks them to pieces”, said Mr. Tyrrell. Well, they are now looking remarkably elegant and healthy to me, just like the ones in Qala that he admired as a contrast. The same can be said of the trees in Main Gate Street and next to the Bus Terminus. Those men evidently knew more about tree husbandry than Mr. Tyrrell realised.