Residents outraged after family vandalizes one of the largest trees in park: 'There should be criminal charges'

Hastily carved initials into tree trunks is the stuff of romantic films, but while this might seem like a sweet way to commemorate your experience somewhere, it can have disastrous consequences when done on a living tree.

On the r/halifax subreddit, one community member posted a picture of what they described as "tree vandalism" in Hemlock Ravine Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 

"A family ripped off a ~1 foot chunk of bark on one of the largest hemlocks so they could carve their initials into the tree," they commented underneath a picture of the damage.

The original poster noted that the tree is 82 centimeters in diameter, with the largest trees in the park between 88 and 90 centimeters around. That could place the tree in the region of 150 years old, the OP observed.

"Not sure why folks do this sort of thing," they added.

Tearing a chunk of bark off a tree removes part of its protective layer. This can allow pests, fungi, and bacteria to access the tree's cambium, where new cells are formed that help the tree grow. The phloem layer of tissue just below the bark also helps to transport nutrients to the roots, damaging the tree's natural survival functions. 

Girdling, or removing bark in a circle around a tree, is one way to slowly kill a tree. Although just a patch of bark was removed from this tree, this will still impact the tree's health.

Trees and natural green spaces are essential to human existence, as they help to suck in harmful, planet-warming gases from the atmosphere and release oxygen. They also provide numerous other benefits, such as offering a habitat for creatures and cooling the Earth naturally. Studies have even shown time spent in the company of trees can improve mental health. 

Although the original poster showed that park officials quickly took action to help the tree by wrapping a protective layer around the exposed spot, Redditors were still outraged.

"Why would a family think this is okay?" one user said. "Did someone witness them doing this? Hope they got called out."

"There should be criminal charges laid for this," added another. 

Don't believe everything you see on screen. Carving your name in living trees isn't quite as cool or romantic as you've been led to believe. 

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