WHILE horticultural teams have been working hard to spruce up regional playgrounds, parks and verges with new plants, vandals and thieves have also been at work undermining Wollongong City Council’s Urban Greening Strategy.
A number of public spaces have been targeted with plant theft and other forms of tree vandalism in recent months.
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the Council is proud of the work its crews do each day to make the region a vibrant and green place to live.
“Unfortunately, some people have been doing the wrong thing by stealing and damaging plants,” he said.
“Public spaces are for everyone and plant theft wastes money, takes additional time to fix and ruins the beauty of our city.
“Any act of vandalism, from breaking or removing trees to pulling the plants out of the ground to die, is not on. The wanton destruction of plants, trees or any public property is a pathetic act that detracts from our sense of community and is an unnecessary waste of resources.”
Plant theft and tree vandalism on public land is a serious criminal offence. People caught stealing or vandalising plants and trees may receive a fine starting from thousands of dollars, depending on the severity of the incident.
“It’s a shame to have to talk about the behaviour of just a few community members who are destroying and stealing plants from public land,” Cr Bradbery said.
“We’re asking everyone to enjoy our local playgrounds, parklands, verges and beaches without souveniring the plants for another garden. Please leave our public spaces intact and undamaged for the next person.”
Tree vandalism can come in many forms from poisoning, pruning, ringbarking, burning, removing or destroying plants.
“We need everyone’s help to stop plant theft in our community. If you do have information about a plant theft or act of tree vandalism, report it to Council or the Police,” Cr Bradbery said.
“If you do see a plant you love, don’t steal it. The Wollongong Botanic Garden holds regular subsidised plant sales for residents wanting to add colour to their garden with a range of native plants. So, there’s no excuse to steal plants from public land.”
Report plant theft and tree vandalism to Council by submitting a request on its website, or contact the Police on 131 444.
Subscribe to the latest Bulli & Clifton Times’ stories
PAYPAL TIP JAR
YOU can make a small donation towards the running of The Bulli & Clifton Times and/or the Looking Back websites through Paypal. If you would like to support my work, you can leave a small tip here of $2, or several small tips, just increase the amount as you like. Your generous patronage of my work and research, however small it appears to you, will greatly help me with my continuing costs
A$2.00
OR DONATE BY CREDIT CARD
Instead, you can make a small donation towards the publishing of The Bulli & Clifton Times and/or the Looking Back websites with your credit card. If you would like to support my work, you can leave a small donation here by tapping or clicking on the button below. Your generous patronage of my work and research, however small it appears to you, will greatly help me with my continuing costs.
The Bulli & Clifton Times 
Discussion
No comments yet.