Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-BC) in Arrecife wanted to defend the tree in the Plaza de San Ginés, specifically, the specimen of casuarina equisetifolia, Australian casuarina or tree of sadness that today is “sentenced” to be cut down as a result of the imminent remodeling of the Plaza Las Palmas.
For Sheila Guillén, spokesperson for the Canarian nationalists in the capital, “the sole option of cutting down this tree is a real occurrence that we must stop. There are no objective or technical reasons that indicate that the square cannot be reformed without preserving the life of the tree.”
Guillén alleges that "there is a report from the Arrecife City Council itself that indicates that there is no justification for cutting down said tree, and that the Cabildo's claim goes against the municipal ordinance of gardening that mentions that 'in permanent urban actions such as the creation of walks, squares, steps, etc., in areas where there are already tree species, maximum care will be taken to ensure that, in addition to respecting them, the trees are provided with pits of sufficient dimensions so that they can continue to develop'".
The Canarian nationalists are criticizing the government group of the Popular Party (PP) and the Canarian Coalition (CC) for "accepting this arboreal murder without seeking alternatives and without giving any sign that they care about nature and life."
“Arrecife does not have enough trees and shade areas to be cutting down specimens that have been living with us for decades. It is tremendously insensitive and goes against the axes that should prevail on an island that is a Biosphere Reserve and the essence that César Manrique himself instilled, which is none other than the coexistence between nature and human beings,” says Guillén, who asks the Council of the Biosphere Reserve, the Arrecife City Council and the Arrecife society to fight for the “pardon” of the tree in the square.”
On the other hand, NC-BC proposes that Arrecife move towards achieving the 3-30-300 strategy, where each person can see at least three trees from their home, have 30% plant cover in their neighborhood and be 300 meters from a quality green area, as recommended by organizations such as Greenpeace and the United Nations.
With everything, the Canarian nationalists defend "a capital that replaces the hardness of the pitch with the green of the trees."
