A memorial place has been created next to the town hall of Uithoorn. With a work of art made of flowers, residents express their dissatisfaction about the recent felling of trees that was necessary to make room for parking spaces, and they commemorate the trees.
Despite fierce protests from residents, 14 trees were cut at the town hall last week. Although the parking lots won’t be constructed until later this year, the trees had to be felled before the breeding season. This law is intended to prevent bird nests from ending up in the shredder.
Below, watch images of the hood last Tuesday, filmed by a resident.
Miranda Bon-de Boer had to swallow hard when she walked across the bare piece of ground last Saturday. She is a member of a group of concerned villagers who have been involved before signatures gathered against the felling of trees, and decided to set up a memorial place near the felled trees. “It’s actually a kind of sweet counteraction,” says the Uithoorn native, who mainly hopes to generate positivity with her action.
Brighten things up
“I am very creative myself and wanted to brighten things up,” says the initiator. She therefore decided to place a sign decorated with flowers near the trees. “Let’s create our own blossoming work of art here, because we are interested in it,” she called on her fellow villagers to make an active contribution to the work of art.
That call turned out not to fall on deaf ears. After a photo of the colorful sign was shared among residents, more Uithoorn residents decided to lay flowers at the memorial site. “It quickly became something bigger than just a flower,” says a resident who prefers to remain anonymous.
After the trees were shredded, she collected the remains and, together with neighbors, turned them into a path that leads to the town hall. Pure symbolism, because they think the municipality should finally listen to them.