FUSE Young Reporter
The ' Rustlings Road dawn raid '
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INVESTIGATES
The One Show even made a special BBC report about this !
www . youtube . com / watch ? v = lsZOht2LaX8 I spoke to someone local who told me :
“ On Rustlings Road , six of the eight lime trees were found to be perfectly healthy . However there was a shock ' dawn raid ' about 5 o ' clock one morning that woke residents from their beds . Some of them rushed outside to see heavy equipment and workers with chainsaws already attacking the trees . They were only able to save one of them .
Three people were arrested in their pyjamas for standing under one of the trees to protect it ! Two of them were even old-age-pensioners !”
' Ellen the Lime ', the only survivor on Rustlings Road , has become a figurehead of the campaign and even has her own Twitter account ! I go past her a lot and decided d to make a sign for her -and even decorate her with Christmas decorations !
Editor ’ s Note :
Sheffield City Council explain they are trying to protect the city ' s people , houses and cars – but at the same time must spend money carefully . Sometimes it is cheaper to cut down a tree than to change the pavement or roadway and many residents would rather save money than trees . Additionally , the council are planning to plant thousands of new trees across Sheffield .
The council also say they “ employ trained ecologists who check all trees before they are removed […] to establish if any birds are nesting in it or if any bats are roosting ” and also that “ every tree that meets the 6D ’ s [ Tree and Woodland strategy ] criteria and needs to be removed , is replaced with a species of tree that is better suited to a street environment .” STAG campaigners question this .
It ' s complicated . Across the world from Sheffield to the Amazon rainforest , money challenges the natural environment .
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