For the best part of a year, the council disrupted traffic around the place during construction associated with their project to ‘ Green the City”. Thc concept was that water pipes would be laid down everywhere, connected to a drip feed system and the runoff water and associated waste water, all treated, filtered and recycled, would be used to water plants and trees that would be planted once the project was completed. Well it was completed at the cost of over $6.5 Million, grasses were sown and trees planted. Six months later most of the grass is dead and most of the trees are dead or dying. Why? What went wrong? Well the system that the council chose was not the best (the cheaper option), the filtration system didn’t live up to expectations and allowed algae to penetrate the system, clogging up the water drip outlets, so no water. 
Also, the council decided to plant ” Native Trees” – branch dropping, bark shedding, shallow rooted, fall down at the drop of a hat, trees. The council have this bee in their bonnet about planting native trees everywhere because ” it’s the green thing to do – plant trees that are naive to this area” The trees that are native to this area are ugly and not good in an urban setting. ( think more of big overgrown bushes rather than real trees) Loxton, a town similar to ours with a similar rainfall and climate, carried out a greening project and started by getting rid of all the native trees. They replaced them with “exotic” trees (anything not native to the area is exotic) and as a result they now have a fresh green, leafy and a more pleasing aspect to their town whilst ours still looks like what it is – a dry, dusty community perched at the edge of the desert. And before you ask, yes there was vegetation there to start off with but all that was bulldozed and dug up for the new greening project- now it’s empty, dry and dusty with dead trees and dead grasses and a drip system that doesn’t work — gollee isn’t progress wonderful!! Can it be fixed? Yes, of course it can and it will only cost an additional half million. Will anything change – probably not since council is dominated by greenies who can’t see past native anything. Ok that’s my rant for the month :o)
I wonder if the Druids would still have held trees as sacred if they had beheld the trees we have around here – native trees, that is. Myall trees are fine in the correct setting but this is not it If I could I would get rid of the one outside, but it would cost to much to have that done and to just do it would cost even more in court fees and fines for cutting down a tree without permission.
Took the dogs out for a walk last night and had a jacket on. It has been cold these last few days and still is this morning. Rained last night.
The temperature is not expected to go higher than 24-25 for the remainder of this week again.
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