Not long ago I was walking the hills with and old friend, who is now an expert professional arboriculturalist, or tree surveyor as we prefer to call them. He opened my eyes to some interesting flora on the hills, and pointed out a problem that we have here, above the Holy Well. I like squirrels, but it seems they have become too prolific in this area. The damage seems to be localised, but quite widespread. On the higher paths many trees had been affected by the action of the squirrels scratching at the bark near the base of the tree. In some cases the tree in question is just a sapling, but in other cases these are mature trees that will actually die as a result. The life span of the magnificent older trees is jeopardised by inaction. Is it right to condemn the Wells trees to the squirrels?

My friend loves trees, but dislikes squirrels. I think that if they continue to damage the trees they have become a pest. What do you think? Your views are important.

Malcolm Victory, Chairman