Keeping our school safe

During the summer holiday break, two large Cottonwood trees were removed from the centre of our grassed field area following multiple large limb falls over a 6 month period. Two more dangerous Cottonwood trees located outside the Sydenham Community Preschool, are also scheduled for removal in the coming weeks.

On Sunday 11th February, a significantly large limb snapped off the tree and landed across the Sydenham Community Preschool carpark. The tree limb covered the entire car park space, and caused damage to preschool property. Had there been anybody in the carpark at the time, the probability of serious harm would have been extremely high.

The two trees concerned are situated directly over the preschool car park and teaching spaces. The large limb that fell, had a fault which allowed moisture damage and rot to work its way into the tree. This damage would not have been visible from the ground.

We have consulted with the Ministry of Education and with our arborist, who has worked with Waltham School over a number of years with tree mapping and maintenance. The experts believe that due to the age of these two trees there is a high likelihood of further decline, and given their location, they pose a significant health and safety risk to our community.

Looking after our community is paramount and installing a tree bracing system or a structural reduction would not guarantee safety around these trees.

A perimeter has been created around the area to ensure it is cordoned off for the arborist, who will be removing the trees in stages over a number of weeks. The removal of these trees will take place out of school hours (3:45pm onwards), and on weekends. To support us during this time, please

• Respect the safety boundaries that are created at all times
• Do not climb over any locked gates to enter school grounds when tree felling in occurring
• Adhere to all safety information, signs and instructions outlined by the arborist
• Not entering the school playground, court and grass areas during removal times

The Waltham BOT are committed to respecting our environment, so will make arrangements to re-plant four trees this year to replace those that have been removed.

Thank you for your continued support.