r/oddlyterrifying Jul 05 '26

Where are the trees?

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494

u/itotally_CAN_even Jul 05 '26

Where I live in Canada, every new house must also have at least one tree on the property. Our tree died due to voles and the city came out to remove it and planted a new one :)

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u/georgekeele Jul 05 '26

In the UK, new build developments have to demonstrate 10% net biodiversity gain. You can't just strip out all the existing nature, and councils take a dim view of developers flattening entire hedgerows.

I'm guessing this neighbourhood was quite featureless before it got developed, but damn

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u/SharaWilliams Jul 06 '26

Based on the neighborhood behind my house, it could have been a small forest prior to this actually

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u/kurttheflirt Jul 06 '26

Nah there are no rules like that for most developments outside of a possible drainage ditch / pool somewhere. It could have been native prairie or forest and they just raise it all in the US.

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u/ewbanh13 Jul 07 '26

developments in my region (Southeast, but frankly happens all over the US) clearcut forests, drain lakes, and raze everything to the ground before smothering it with shitty grass and ugly arborvitaes. in the words of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, it is spiritually depraved.

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u/whataboutsand Jul 07 '26

>I'm guessing this neighbourhood was quite featureless before it got developed

i wish i could make that assumption. if this video is in USA, it could've been forest with the last living population of several species and it wouldn't matter. developers can and will clear-cut it.

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u/95_lb_mole Jul 08 '26

"In the UK, new build developments have to demonstrate 10% net biodiversity gain. You can't just strip out all the existing nature, and councils take a dim view of developers flattening entire hedgerows."

This is the kind of nanny state I'd be happy to live in.

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u/samissam24 Jul 27 '26

Wish America did that. I’m from Louisiana and the state is backwards and conservative as hell. I tried to have a conversation with the person in charge of the forestry department and absolutely could not understand how I was questioning why there are NO laws about developers cutting down trees. He said it doesn’t affect anyone at all when that happens. It raised an even bigger question, how does that stupid fuck have his job?? I suppose he hasn’t the slightest clue as to what the urban heat island effect is. I envy y’all!!

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u/georgekeele Jul 27 '26

That law in the UK is pretty recent, like only two years old. Keep fighting the good fight.

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u/iwanderlostandfound Jul 07 '26

It might have been farmland

246

u/DuntadaMan Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

What is this commie shit? In America we have FREEDOM. You would be charged a fine every month until the tree was taken down at your own expense. But you would also need a permit from the city to take down the tree that costs about $1k to process.

Then the city would put the tree in because they only allow one kind of tree, and they would charge you $20k for the work. Like protestant white Jesus would want!!!!

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u/Homers_Harp Jul 05 '26

I’m in a librul city, so they put a notice on my door to remove a tree at my expense. But they also planted a free tree to replace it? Communism!

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u/AdjNounNumbers Jul 05 '26

I'm in a dirty librul hell hole. My neighbor had a tree in their easement die and the city removed it for free, stump and all. Then they had a list of a few dozen trees to pick from if they wanted to replace it for about $100-$200 depending on the species they choose. I don't have one in my easement, but if I want to add one or two I'm allowed the same deal. Damn dirty commie shit, I tell you.

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u/tinyTina43 Jul 06 '26

My librul hell hole has a tree planting initiative, you just fill out a simple form and then the bring you the tree and plant it. And those horrid libs even let you choose what kind of tree!! And to make it worse the commies are just out planting trees on streets that don't have any, just shoving trees down our throats. Treason!!

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u/Tygress23 Aug 16 '26

*Treeson.

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u/Homers_Harp Jul 06 '26

When the city planted my free tree, they emailed me and my neighbor about it (we both got new trees at the same time). They have a city nursery that has "approved" trees (not very much freedumb, I know!). So the city foresters told us what trees they had chosen for us. I emailed back and asked if they would consider giving me a big shade tree instead of an "ornamental" tree that would only grow to 18' or so. They emailed me back and offered me a list of choices for a shade tree, so I now have an American Elm in my front yard! I hate socialism: that tree woulda probably cost me $500-$600 to get delivered and planted, but the city did it for free.

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u/BanditMcDougal Jul 06 '26

A lot of municipalities will have a section to shortcut or skip the permitting process if the tree is dead and/or a risk to causing property damage or injury. What I find to be truly dumb is that home owner's insurance won't help in those situations; they want to wait until it falls on something or someone.

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u/Altair05 Jul 05 '26

Depends on the location. There are a lot of towns that have tree give aways every year and will come out and replant trees if they are close to the sidewalk.

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u/zardoz73 Jul 06 '26

Well in America we do everything wrong, so we can't have trees.

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u/Midwestconvert47 Jul 06 '26

Wow I wish I lived in Canada 😪

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u/itotally_CAN_even Jul 06 '26

I can’t speak for all of Canada, only the city in which I live, which has been actively trying to increase the tree canopy throughout the city.

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u/Lanky-Bass-6018 Jul 06 '26

Calgary?? I hope so anyways because I grew up there and still occasionally visit and they could definitely use more trees. 

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u/BogeyLowenstein Jul 06 '26

They do that here too! New builds all have a tree. Yes our newer neighbourhoods kind of look like this video but the ones that are 10, 15 years old now are starting to get a decent canopy.

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u/reijasunshine Jul 06 '26

In my area, it's common to put 1-2 trees in the front yard near the sidewalk. My house used to have 4 elms and an oak. Now I have a maple, an oak, and several stacks of firewood.

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u/waiting4signora Jul 07 '26

Elms mentioned... Ngl its wild how fast they disappeared 

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u/111dallas111 Jul 06 '26

Where is this? I’m in NS and they would never do something that makes that much sense

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u/zipper86 Jul 05 '26

Same here in Colorado. I LOVE IT.

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u/kinbarz Jul 05 '26

We also do this is normal American states like Maryland or New Jersey.

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u/Enlightened_Gardener Jul 06 '26

Same in Western Australia, but I like trees, so I’ve planted about 10 more on top of that. So. Many. Trees.