By RUSSELL BENNETT
CARDINIA Shire Council is holding firm on its insistence that Worrell Reserve’s iconic Monterey pines must be felled to enable the oval and its surrounds to be recognised as a Neighbourhood Safer Place (NSP).
But two of Emerald’s highest-profile community figures are fuming over the prospect of seeing the trees uprooted.
Mary Farrow from Emerald Community House and Emerald For Sustainability’s (EmFSus) Lee Fuller both say they’ve received advice that Worrell Reserve qualifies as an NSP without the removal of the trees along the Belgrave-Gembrook Road side of the ova.
They insist that the wider community has been left in the dark over the issue.
An NSP is a place of last-resort for people during a bushfire emergency. They are council-designated buildings or spaces that may provide some protection from radiant heat, but they are not designed to – and shouldn’t – replace a bushfire survival plan.
“We’ve been told no action – or no dramatic action – is necessary (in regards to removing the trees),” Ms Farrow said.
“The council talks about that kind of action, but it’s not needed.
“What’s being sold to the community is that unless we take the trees down, we won’t get an NSP.”
Ms Fuller said there was no clear plan in regards to the giant pines, and that she was often stopped in the street by locals wondering what would come of them.
“I am outspoken and I do oppose this because there are 50 long-standing trees,” she said.
“If you take them down – even if you replant them – that is going to be a scar on our natural landscape for years.”
Ms Farrow said she, and many others in her community, wanted the council to slow down, before making any decisions to remove the 100-year-old trees, or even list Worrell Reserve as an NSP at all.
“We think there probably needs to be some kind of community forum where the whole community can talk about whether they think that kind of action – by a council – would create a safe NSP,” she said.
“When this started, it was sold to the community that the trees weren’t healthy. They had an arborist’s report that they had to come down. If they did, we’d get an NSP.
“Of course, we contested that. We said we’d get another arborist and we did. He said there was nothing wrong with the trees and they backed off.
“Council has a conservation plan for trees that are important in this town. For them to try and level this place up and straighten it out like it’s Pakenham is unacceptable.”
Another Emerald resident, Lisa Bullock, feared the use of Worrell Reserve as an NSP would lead to countless locals unsafely flocking there in case of an emergency.
Ms Farrow added that, according to the municipal fire plan, other parts of Emerald were deemed at lower-risk and should be looked at before Worrell – which can be used by emergency vehicles in case of a fire.
Ms Fuller said in central California – where the pines come from – they were deemed ’fire-adapt’ trees, and were considered a threatened species.
But according to the council’s manager of community, risk and emergency management Myles O’Reilly, Worrell Reserve wouldn’t meet radiant heat requirements if the trees weren’t removed.
“Council’s position is clear and has been carefully considered, both in consultation with the community and emergency services,” he said.
“(We have) been very upfront with its proposal to remove the trees and the reasons why this is necessary to providing a Neighbourhood Safer Place – Place of Last Resort at Worrell Reserve.
“Our motivation is public safety, and the proposal to remove the trees is not made lightly as we understand the feeling in the community.
“That is why we have worked closely with the Emerald Village Committee (EVC) and other community groups on this issue. The EVC supports council’s position.
“We are also looking at how the timber from the trees could be utilised in projects that benefit the people of Emerald and surrounds, and how the area can be replanted with native species that will provide a more suitable habitat for local flora and fauna.
“The monterey cypress trees are not an indigenous species to Australia.
“The decision to consider the removal of the trees at the Worrell Reserve has always been based on a risk assessment relating to the radiant heat potential associated with these trees and the designation of the site as a Neighbourhood Safer Place.”
