Bourke fig trees are worth saving

Dr Greg Moore of Melbourne University is an expert in the cultivation and management of trees in the urban environment. He says Bourke Council should value and retain it’s fig trees. Photo: Supplied

Tourism operators and an internationally recognised tree expert are calling for Bourke Council to halt its plan to axe the town’s iconic fig trees.

Several tourism business owners have called on council to stop chopping the trees down, saying it will have a negative impact on visitors to Bourke.

And renowned urban tree expert Dr Greg Moore said the council has “no idea” what the fig trees are worth.

Dr Moore, from the University of Melbourne, says Bourke’s fig trees would have an individual value of up to $50,000 per tree.

He is calling on council to look at how other councils have successfully managed the risk fig trees pose to footpaths and pipes.

“Usually in these debates, the key issue is the damage to infrastructure — footpaths, curbing and occasionally roads and pipes,” Dr Moore said.

Read more in the printed edition of the Western Herald.