Buskett: woodland vs public gardens

Abstract

The upkeep of Buskett woodland recently repeatedly fell under the axe of some mismanaged landscaping works. The tenets governing the upkeep of a woodland area are completely different from those governing the upkeep of a public garden. After some weak rumblings a couple of months ago, when some willows were inadvertently pruned along Wied il-Luq by the same culprits, last week a whole area of undergrowth was winnowed away, with budding oaks and a number of lentisks running the gauntlet. Fortunately, once alerted by Nature Trust, BirdLife (Malta) and other concerned entities, officials from the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment, were quick on the scene to halt any further scarring. Some months back, a number of old-growth oak trees were overtly pruned to make way for a rubble wall reconstruction scheme.