Killing trees at our subdivision

Deforestation is a word often used for the mountains or wilderness (referring of course to forests). Unfortunately, there are forms of deforestation even in settled areas. I'm referring here to the cutting of trees in a subdivision. There are many houses under construction where I live and it seems that most contractors and owners prefer the traditional clearing of a lot rather than consider even some of the existing trees to be integrated in the design of the houses. The result is a lot of old trees including Narra, Acacia, Mahogany, Mango and Kaimito trees being cut down. I find it somewhat ironic that these new residents mention one major reason they decided to build a house and reside in our village was the presence of a lot of trees.

What's left of a Narra tree that used to be home to several bird species including kingfishers, swallows and orioles. The neighbor across from the house where the tree was claimed the roots.

What's left of a mahogany tree that we thought would be spared by the contractor of a house under construction.

We also cleared out lot of many trees (mostly ipil-ipil) but integrated the old mango and narra trees in our landscaping. Those have grown and benefited us with fruits, shade and oxygen over the years. I hope others will consider a similar approach rather than just cut down everything and later grow a token garden for their houses.

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