Re: 鈥淣ot the cherry trees,鈥� editorial, Feb. 27.
This whole issue with the cherry trees in Victoria shows how easily false information can spread through a combination of sloppy journalism and our present social media environment, where people react before they even know the facts. The policy of gradually replacing some non-native species with native species comes from the city鈥檚 Urban Forest Master Plan, which was developed back in 2009 and approved in 2013, before Lisa Helps became mayor. Despite this, many people were quick to accuse Helps of having a plan to remove all the cherry trees.
This all stemmed, not from any recent change in policy, but from Coun. Geoff Young鈥檚 statements to the media implying imminent destruction of our cherry trees, which was pure fear-mongering for political purposes. Now that the city has clarified that cherry trees continue to be replanted under this policy, perhaps everyone can just calm down.
Steven Murray
Victoria
