A few weeks ago, a construction crew started blocking off and tearing up Adams St. near Claiborne in preparation for a new road. New Orleans native Lynda Bermuda was concerned that they were demolishing too close to the sidewalk, and, to her surprise, on Thursday the 24th, she was told that a tree outside her house had sustained damage to its roots and would have to be cut down even though it showed no significant signs of stress two weeks after the damage. The tree seems to stand at least 40 to 50 feet tall.
To Lynda, this was no ordinary tree, however. Her father planted this tree for her in the 70s when she was born, and she believes it has a strong spiritual connection to her. As a Cherokee, she believes everything in nature has a spirit and should be treated respectfully. So when she was told that her beloved tree was to be cut down, she had a decision to make: let it happen or do everything in her power to save the tree. She sent out emails to see if the tree could stay and, to no avail, was told that it had to go. So, in the early hours of Friday morning, Lynda decided to camp out in the tree. With the support of her friends and neighbors, they set up a platform and ladder for her as well as space on both sides of the street for people to keep her company while she protected her tree.
Throughout the weekend, she gained support and was promised that a city official would come to speak with her this morning. So at 8:30, Joe Threat and some people in charge of the street project met with Lynda in her tree along with a few dozen supportive neighbors. “I just want to get you out of that tree today,” Joe said. After some discussion, it was agreed that the tree would not be touched for two weeks while a third-party arborist evaluated whether the tree would survive the damage. With that promise, Lynda agreed to come down, and they shook hands. Once she was down, she expressed how upset she was that this couldn’t have been solved with an email or a meeting. Lynda’s happy to get back to work but says she’s fully prepared to return to the tree until spring if necessary. “My father would be proud of me for protecting my tree,” she said.
People in this city always lose their trees to road work without notice. With the lack of funding, it’s tough for crews to do their best to work around them correctly and without any damage. For a city known for its beautiful trees, it’s sad to say we have one of the lowest tree coverages. They provide shade, lower energy costs in the hot summer months, and create habitat for small animals. Most arborists are inclined to side with whatever the city wants to do because of their licensing. David Morello recently submitted a petition to ensure homeowners were given fair notice before removing their trees. For now, Lynda’s spirit tree is safe, and hopefully, we can find a way to prevent damage to trees during road work in the future.
