More than two dozen trees have been damaged beyond repair in an act of vandalism along Wyndham Street in Shepparton, in separate incidents over the past few weeks.
The trees, which were recently planted along Wyndham Street between Knight Street and Balaclava Road, were broken at the base and had to be removed by Greater Shepparton City Council’s Arboriculture team.
The cost of the damage is estimated to be over $450 per tree when taking into account initial watering and formative pruning, with a replacement cost of more than $10,000.
The 23 crepe myrtle trees were planted in 2022 as part of Urban Forest Strategy and had just started to bloom.
Council’s Acting Manager Parks, Sport and Recreation, Eric Heeps, said Council was disappointed that people would purposely vandalise and kill these newly established trees.
“It is extremely disappointing to see this vandalism occur, with damage caused to the trees in the area on two separate occasions,” he said.
“Council will work to replace the trees and install cages around them to ensure this cannot happen in the future. It is a step we didn’t want to have to take however Council want to protect the greenery in the area and prevent the opportunity for further damage.”
Anyone who witnesses vandalism of trees on Council property, is urged to contact the police.
