Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Silk Cotton Tree

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – This summer, roadworks and tree removals have many asking – how “protected” are our protected trees? And, what was the process like to remove the latest silk cotton tree on Village Road?

Once upon a time, New Providence was a place known for its silk cotton trees, with the great silk cotton tree on Baillou Hill Road becoming the one of most globally recognizable of the 19th century.

This historical legacy may be part of the reason some were outraged by the sight of the start of the removal of what’s said to be a potentially hundreds year-old silk cotton tree on the corner of Village Road. The reason for the removal? The Village Road improvement project.

But, it should be noted that the plans for the tree’s removal have not been kept under wraps. The resident engineer for the project, Albrion Symonette Jr., tells Our News, as part of the process of getting permission to remove the tree, details of the Village Road improvement project, including the tree’s fate, were discussed in public forums.

Symonette also says the decision to remove the tree was not haphazardly made. He goes out of his way to show our news the paper trail of permissions and plans, sharing that earlier plans hoped for the tree to be able to stay where it was.

But, between land limitations and the fact that the forestry unit is citing evidence the tree may be rotting from the inside, they went forward with a plan for removal.

Symonette stresses, aside from the approval fee from the forestry unit, they also had to meet a 3:1 mitigation requirement – meaning, for the removal of this tree, they would have to plant trhee more to replace it.

The permissions process is rather simple and the same for private citizens, large developers, and the government alike. So, what’s the cost of the permit to remove a protected, potentially hundreds year-old tree? Fifteen dollars. Just five dollars for the application, and an additional ten dollars if your application is approved.

For now, focus remains on the next generation of silk cotton trees, under the watchful eye of Licious Halder, a plant specialist subcontracted by Knowles Construction.

And, as for the Village Road tree, the VRIP has made plans with the antiquities, monuments, and museums corporation to work with local artisans to make sure the wood doesn’t go to waste.