This old mulberry tree once stood in Mġarr Road, Għajnsielem. It was a nice old tree, gnarled branches and all. But when the contractor commissioned by the government rebuilt this road with European Union funds, this precious tree was cut down.

The same happened to another old tree near the aqueduct on the road leading to Għarb and Ta' Pinu.

Was the Malta Environment and Planning Authority involved in the decision to cut down the trees? If so, on what grounds? If not, is action going to be taken?

Some things are not done according to rules, like the undulating pavements on our island, sometimes they slope this way or that according to the whims of the owner of the house, and one has to be a real hiker to tackle them. These pavements are dangerous and an inconvenience to the public.

But ignoring the rules protecting the natural environment is more dangerous and impoverishing Malta and Gozo. If we lose our natural environment, we lose what makes these islands what they are, we lose the open spaces needed for us to relax and we are destroying nature.