Calgary neighbourhood tells tree planters to make like a tree and leaf
CALGARY — Protests over trees usually happen when they’re being cut down, but some Calgary residents are upset the city has planted saplings in a park across from their homes.
Ian Burgess said some of his neighbours in the Brentwood neighbourhood near the University of Calgary yelled at contractors last week that were hired by the city to plant about a dozen small trees.
Burgess and others argue the trees will encourage crime by making it harder to see neighbouring homes and that they will provide cover for urban campers, thieves or drug users.
“We’ve found everything from a makeshift crackpipe to razors to needles to hygiene products,” Burgess said about the park, which already has some mature trees and bushes.