31 March 2021

On Thursday 1 and Friday 2 April, two trees are due to be felled. One is a sycamore in the garden of the Oude UB, and the other is a pine tree in the courtyard of the Faculty Club. Both trees are in such a poor state that they are a danger for the surrounding area and they therefore have to be removed.

The urban ecologist at the municipality of Leiden has examined both trees. The sycamore in the garden of the Oude UB suffered serious damage in the recent strong winds when a large branch broke off. The examination carried out by the municipality found that the tree is in poor condition and it is highly likely that further branches will break off. This is a danger for the surrounding area and also makes the survival of the tree less likely. Given that the tree is no longer likely to recover and there is no other alternative, the advice was, unfortunately, that the tree would have to be cut down. 

The advice was also given to cut down the pine tree in the courtyard of the Faculty Club. In just six months, the tree has started to lean between one and two metres further, indicating that the root system has deteriorated strongly. This tree, too, is beyond saving, added to which it is in danger of falling over in the short term, which is an immediate threat to the surrounding area.  

Trees to be felled on 1 and 2 April

The two trees will be felled on 1 and 2 April. Every effort will be made to keep any disturbance from the work to a minimum. Plans are now being made for replanting with suitable, climate-resilient alternatives. We intend to follow the advice of the ‘Paving out, green in” project of the Leiden University Green Office (LUGO) that aims to expand and broaden the amount of natural greenery on university grounds.   

Paving out, green in

The Leiden University Green Office (LUGO) has recently started a project where the aim is to increase the amount of natural greenery on our campus: Paving out, green in. Together with the Hortus Botanicus, the University Services Department and the Real Estate Expertise Centre, an inventory has been made of the proportion of natural greenery on the roofs and around the different buildings of the university. Based on this inventory, a plan will be made to expand the green areas and to make the existing biodiversity more visible. The Oude UB has been selected as one of the locations where more planting will be done in the first round of the project. The starting point is to add high-quality ecological greenery that will make a real contribution to biodiversity. To achieve this aim, the university will also have to engage in other activities, such as nature-inclusive building and renovations, and climate-adaptive garden planning. More information on the “Paving out, green in” project can be found on the LUGO website.