Plant native trees

YOUR correspondent Jeanette McPhee in her letter headlined ‘Preserve our native trees (Gazette, June 3) identifies a problem in Lathlain that is becoming more and more noticeable across Perth.

It is a continuous loss of indigenous and native trees and the apparent preference being shown by landowners and managers, presumably with the advice of environmentally uncaring landscape artists and horticulturalists, for planting trees and shrubs that are foreign to this country, let alone this State.

Local authorities have latched on to the concept of creating ‘urban forests’ and it is certainly the case that having some trees is better than having no trees.

Mature trees are cut down for development projects, for the avoidance of any inconvenience associated with leaves, twigs and fruits, and for bogus safety reasons.

But from my observation, planning planting projects don’t prioritise planting local native, regional native or even more broadly Australian native species.

This not only robs that city of its particular Australian character but also deprives much of our native bird life of suitable habitat.

There are plenty of West Australian trees that can brighten up the suburbs, provide shade and give our native birds their necessary sustenance.

KEVIN McLEAN, Redcliffe