Rooting out the problems

The municipality is branching out with a new plan to preserve ancient, endangered and vandalized trees.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Carob Tree 521 (photo credit: courtesy)
Carob Tree 521
(photo credit: courtesy)
Have you ever heard of an orthopedic treatment or a pedicure for a tree? Unless you are an employee of the gardening department of the municipality or an expert in botanics, there is little chance you’ve ever heard of these options. The Jerusalem Municipality has such an expert – Rakefet Hadar-Gabay – and she spends all day saving trees.
“I run from one tree to another across the city to diagnose, to cure and pay a visit to see that the treatment is indeed working,” she says.
Jerusalem’s trees face many threats, such as uprooting, vandalism and disease. Following years of indifference to the condition of the city’s trees, the municipality is now implementing a new policy. A comprehensive survey of the millions of trees in Jerusalem was carried out to formulate new rules to protect them, especially the oldest and rarest trees. Today, the presence of a tree is considered sufficient reason to change a construction plan. According to Hadar-Gabay, Gardening Department head Yossi Hacham and the hundreds of employees are thrilled with the new initiative, but she adds that “nothing will be enough if the vandalism and neglect caused by the residents continues.”
So how does the life of a tree in downtown Jerusalem look? Not bad, thank you, but it could be better.
Let’s take for example the pine tree at the entrance to the Rav Kook House, on the street of the same name. “We checked it out and reached the conclusion that there was no option other than serious orthopedic treatment, so we added crutches from the sides, and so far this old and venerable tree has been saved,” she says. Or take the Schinus tree outside Rehov Emek Refaim 51. “As part of a renovation and construction project there [three years ago], we built an elevated garden bed around it, and classified it for preservation. Not so long ago, it would have simply been uprooted,” she comments.
“Trees that are over 40 to 60 years of age or are endangered species deserve special attention. We care for their health and cure their diseases. If a tree has holes in its trunk, we fill them in.
Like dentists, we do root canals, we treat cases of fungus – we clean the wound, fill in and close it. Sometimes it’s from overhydration.
So we dry up the area, introduce a thin pipe inside the trunk, so that water will reach the roots directly, and keep the trunk dry and safe from new fungus. It’s a whole procedure, but we manage to save trees, and that’s what matters,” she stresses.
Dozens of the department’s employees are on alert 24/7. When a call warns of a problem connected to a tree, they arrive immediately, consult the expert on agronomy and botanics in the department, and decide how to proceed.
“One of our major tasks is to clip and cut the trees, which has to be done in a very precise and professional manner so as not to cause more harm. Three years ago we had a major emergency when a very sick pine tree collapsed suddenly on Rehov Elazar Hamoda’i, obstructing traffic. So we issue permits for dangerous trees to be uprooted, including on private land, but otherwise uprooting trees is fined heavily,” she says.
“Trees are not merely decorative but part of our legacy from previous generations to be handed down to the next ones,” says Hadar-Gabay. “A huge, ancient eucalyptus tree stood in the middle of Rehov Mevo Hamatmid, which was being widened. The easiest solution was to uproot it. We, of course, were absolutely against that. Thanks to the new rules, a traffic island was eventually built around the tree. The street was widened and the tree was preserved. It’s not some capricious attitude of botanists, it’s part of a large project to educate people that our trees are part of our history and should be treated with respect.”