- Samuel Serry Jr
Disaster Looms at Wilberforce Village?
Wilberforce village famous, not only for its Creole heritage but also for the two giant aged cotton trees facing each other on community grounds. These magnificent historic landmarks remain invaluable assets to Wilberforce community, helping forge a strong community spirit over the many centuries the trees have stood watch over the village.
Unfortunately, incessant burning of waste in the hollows of this majestic tree eats deep into its inner root chambers and the tree now stands, decomposing from the inside, dead.
Earlier this year, another landmark cotton tree at Upgun Cemetary, in the east end of Freetown, was uprooted in violent storms, which are becoming fiercer and more frequent as climate change takes place. Greaves were damaged as the tree fell.
Surely, it cannot be long before the same fate befalls this historic cotton tree at Wilberforce Village - a disaster waiting to happen.
Alarmingly, Wilberforce Municipal school stands in the shadow of this giant tree - just feet away - and this cotton tree now poses a grave danger to residents and the young people daily frequenting playgrounds below.
Can we really wait for disaster to strike? We urge authorities to cut the tree down safely and in a managed way.
Give this tree the respect it deserves and let our artisan carvers make something beautiful from this proud symbol of our shared history.
