tree-sit

And here is a report from citizens taking control in East Preston: On 1st April 2012 our East Preston day started with one of the principals of LOVE Real Estate knocking on the door and saying that if we mention the name of LOVE Real Estate in our protest they will sue! I said "Really? promise? hey bring it on - we need all the publicity we can get!". An hour later, we photographed them photographing us!

On 1st April 2012 our East Preston day started with one of the principals of LOVE Real Estate knocking on the door and saying that if we mention the name of LOVE Real Estate in our protest they will sue! I said "Really? promise? hey bring it on - we need all the publicity we can get!". An hour later, we photographed them photographing us!

The climbers turned up and in a jiffy had the banners erected and humungous platform installed just in time for the Channel 7 cameraman to do the filming.

We feasted, celebrated but our good cheer went cold when we discovered that LOVE Real Estate agent Ken Kang had poisoned the 85 year old lemon scented gum tree. The poisoning was done it in a very sly manner as the holes were drilled only on the side that was deep in grass. We unplugged the silicon from the holes and flushed the diesel out with water. The scientist said that his tests on biochar showed that it has excellent hydrocarbon absorbing properties so the permaculturalist nipped home and brought some back which we used to plug the holes. Next, we flooded the ground with water mixed with Seasol. Let's hope that the tree is as resilient as the community that it lives in.

I rang up Ken Kang and introduced him to some swear words and personal descriptions that he may not have heard before.
He said that its his tree and he can do what he likes! Quote from LOVE Real Estate's website "Ken is a valuable member of the Love Real Estate team and reflects the Company’s credo ...".

The Channel 7 video and more photos from the day are here http://darebincan.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/dcan-and-dada-in-the-news-again/ (by the way Ch 7 got it wrong; Ken's four unit development was rejected by VCAT - that's how bad it was!)

We are not anti-development; we want responsible and appropriate development. We want a developer who would think "How can I best incorporate the tree into my development?" and a developer who recognises that it is more profitable to build two quality dwellings with room for grass or garden rather than 4 shoddy units, each the size of a two car garage.

You might like to call Ken Kang at LOVE Real Estate to let him know your thoughts about his deeds.

Craig Walters